Introduction to California Soils and Plants

"Having spent time in the field with Professor Kruckeberg, I can attest to his uncanny ability to locate a rare plant not by looking for the plant itself, but by having an almost empathetic sense of its preferred habitat. Now he shares his decades of natural history experience by taking us on a virtual tour of California's incredibly diverse flora, bringing life to the equally diverse geology underneath. For those who want to go beyond knowing plant communities to understanding them, Art Kruckeberg's latest book is essential."—Toby Bradshaw, Washington Research Foundation Professor of Basic Biological Science, University of Washington

"Best known for his comprehensive lifetime's work on serpentine plants, Arthur Kruckeberg here addresses how all of what he lovingly calls "kooky soils"—serpentine, gabbro, carbonates, volcanics, vernal pools and others—have shaped California's outstandingly rich flora. In an eminently readable and enthusiastic style, he helps us to see the patterns of interconnectedness among rocks, landforms, soils, vegetation, and plant species. All California naturalists, from the amateur to the overspecialized professional scientist, will come away enriched by his remarkable perspective."—Susan Harrison, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis