California's unique plants range in size from the stately Coast Redwoods to the minute belly plants of the southern deserts and in age from the four-thousand year-old Bristlecone Pines to ephemeral annuals whose life span can be counted in weeks. Available at last in a thoroughly updated and revised edition, this popular book is the only concise overview of the state's remarkable flora, its plant communities, and the environmental factors that shape them. It features 188 color photographs that illustrate plants and typical plant communities around the state, and new chapters that give expanded discussions of the evolution of the California landscape, recent changes in California's flora, and more. It introduces basic concepts of plant taxonomy and plant ecology through clear examples and covers topics such as soil, climate, and geography.