I figure the plant ID forum would be the best place to ask. Buying some books for presents today, I realized a tree ID book or three would make great gifts for me from my folks this holiday season. Barnes & Noble had "The Sibley Guide to Trees," though the review I link to admits some of the shortcomings I saw flipping through it. It's not very in-depth or scientific, and not laid out for really tracking down a leaf. They had an Audubon section, but were out of any versions about trees. I had one on rocks and minerals growing up, and it was okay, but more like an ID key than a book full of deep information. Perhaps that's best with the sheer number of trees in the world. Most guides I've found have been things like "The top 150 trees in North America," and invariably I find that whatever number it is, it's not nearly enough to encapsulate whatever I find. There are truly a staggering number of plants and trees out there. So, any recommendations? My main interest would be in the trees of California, and more specifically, LA (where I live), though any outstanding guides full of images and information on any subset of the world's trees would be happily noted. Too, I would absolutely love to find a compendium just on Eucalyptus (perhaps including Corymbia). This is one of the more prevalent groups here, and it's nearly impossible for me to figure out which of the 730+ species I'm seeing, especially as so many of them look so similar, or feature heteroblasty significant enough that in one tree alone I found leaves in lanceolate, falcate, elliptic, ovate, orbicular, and obcordate forms. Thanks!
A 1973 publication is still widely used by caretakers: Tree Identification Book : A New Method for the Practical Identification and Recognition of Trees. (ISBN 0688050395, Paperback) by George Symonds Not a photo-rich book, but immensely helpful. You might also check the species listed in a western region field guide - that would give you a basic idea of the relevant plant list to look for in a photo-based publication. A complete guide - one with very little missing data - will likely have some "tedious" component (e.g. a dichotomous key) that may require some mastery.
Short description for each species, thousands of colorful pics and photos and just $20. Kershner,Mathews,Nelson & Spellenberg. Field guide to trees of North America. 2008
Ian Barclay has an illustrated eucalyptus identification software program on his computer. You might e-mail him via his Desert Northwest web site to ask where he got it etc.
Thanks very much everyone for the great suggestions. I'll investigate them all. And Susan, you're right. I've used a few dichotomous keys, and you have to know a lot about a tree to really get through any of the questions in any of the more rigorous examples. Thanks again!
