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Matt Ritter
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A Californian's Guide to the Trees among Us Paperback – September 1, 2016

by Matt Ritter (Author), Peter H. Raven (Foreword)
4.7 out of 5 stars 134
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We bring the strength and beauty of the natural world into our urban landscapes by planting trees, and California is blessed with a rich horticultural history, visible in an abundance of cultivated trees that enrich our lives with extraordinary color, bizarre shapes, unusual textures, and unexpected aromas. A Californian's Guide to the Trees among Us features over 150 of California's most commonly grown trees. Whether native or cultivated, these are the trees that muffle noise, create wildlife habitats, mitigate pollution, conserve energy, and make urban living healthier and more peaceful. Used as a field guide or read with pleasure for the liveliness of the prose, this book will allow readers to learn the stories behind the trees that shade our parks, grace our yards, and line our streets. Rich in photographs and illustrations, overflowing with anecdote and information, A Californian's Guide to the Trees among Us opens our eyes to a world of beauty just outside our front doors.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    192 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Heyday
  4. Publication date
    September 1, 2016
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.4 x 8.9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    159714147X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1597141475
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

''Matt Ritter's fascination with trees shines through in this wonderful book. Accurate and thorough but also very readable and well-illustrated, this is an excellent identification guide and at the same time a celebration of the trees that grow in California's cities and towns. Anyone who is curious about trees is sure to find education and inspiration in these pages.''--David Sibley, author of The Sibley Guide to Trees and The Sibley Guide to Birds

''Ritter's work is great motivation for those of us who are intellectually adventurous within the playground that Mother Nature has given us.''--Jamie Durie, Host of America's longest running gardening program, ''Victory Garden''

''In simple and lucid prose, combined with his own photographs, Ritter teaches us how to look at a tree, how to identify it, how to use it, and, most importantly, how to enjoy it.''--Richard G Turner Jr, editor of Pacific Horticulture

''This is a great tree guide for all who also appreciate the historical perspective of our trees in California and their impact on our society, culture, and our environment.''--Pamela Geisel, coordinator, Statewide Master Gardener Program, and horticulture advisor at UC Cooperative Extension

''At last, a great reference to California's most commonly introduced landscape trees!''--Tom Elias, author of Trees of North America

''A refreshing new reference with enough authoritative details, including up-to-date taxonomy and reflective graphics coupled with good cultural interest comments, suggests that this is a first grab reference for both students and environmental masters alike.'' --Mr. David Dockter, environmental planner and arborist for the city of Palo Alto and director of the International Society of Arborculture

At last, a great reference to California's most commonly introduced landscape trees! --Tom Elias, author of Trees of North America

A refreshing new reference with enough authoritative details, including up-to-date taxonomy and reflective graphics coupled with good cultural interest comments, suggests that this is a first grab reference for both students and environmental masters alike. --Mr. David Dockter, environmental planner and arborist for the city of Palo Alto and director of the International Society of Arborculture

About the Author

Matt Ritter grew up in rural Mendocino County, California. He attended UC Santa Barbara to earn a bachelor's degree in microbiology and UC San Diego for a Ph.D. in plant biology. He's a botany professor in the biology department at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He's authored numerous scientific papers and a natural history guide to San Luis Obispo's native plants. He's also the author of A Californian's Guide to the Trees among Us (Heyday, 2011), the state's funniest and most popular natural history guide to the urban forest. He won the Cal Poly Excellence in Teaching Award and the Western Chapter International Society of Arboriculture R. W. Harris Award for Excellence in Education. He studies trees that escape cultivation, particularly Eucalyptus, and is a woodworker, athlete, musician, gardener, and all-around likable guy.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Heyday; 3/16/11 edition (September 1, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 159714147X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1597141475
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.4 x 8.9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 out of 5 stars 134

About the author

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Matt Ritter

Matt Ritter

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Dr. Matt Ritter grew up in rural Mendocino County, California. After earning a bachelor's degree in microbiology from U.C. Santa Barbara, he attended U.C. San Diego for a Ph.D. in plant biology. He's a botany professor in the Biological Sciences Department at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California, where he lives with his wife and two children. He's the author of several books, including the funniest and best-selling guide to California's urban forest, A Californian's Guide to the Trees among Us (Heyday, 2011). His writing has appeared in several magazines, including a regular column on tree diversity in Pacific Horticulture. He won the Cal Poly Excellence in Teaching Award and the Western Chapter International Society of Arboriculture Award for Excellence in Education. He studies California's native plants and trees that escape cultivation, particularly Eucalyptus. He's an avid woodworker, mason, and gardener. www.mattritter.net

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
134 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Harry J. Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars Another quality work from Matt Ritter
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2023
Verified Purchase
We got the book for an extended stay at UCLA. It was fun to use. Curiosity is a wonderful thing. As with his other publications I have it was well formatted and easy to use as a reference.
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CooperJ6
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book for the Novice
Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2013
Verified Purchase
This is a great book to start with for the novice..... Southern California and its Mediterranean climate provide the best environment for introduced trees from all over the world. Just visit the San Diego Zoo for a world of possibilities (the plant collection is more valuable than the animal collection). With this book it is a pleasure to be able to identify a beautiful tree, and learn a bit about its origins and habits. I've become a tree watcher....much to the chagrin of my wife when I try to tell her about my new found tree ID.

I constantly return to this book over and over again. It is not all encompassing, but that was not the intent. See Ornamental Trees of San Diego by Brigham as a good companion to this book. I've learned how to look at trees carefully and note the type of leaf arrangement, bark, flower and seed pod (fruit) that leads to a confident tree identification. You can then take the tree name and search for more information and photos as needed.

The brief keys, pronunciation guide for the Latin names, histories, along with photos add to the usefulness of the book. Plant and tree taxonomy is a moving target and can be frustrating for the newbie. Some of his taxonomy is "interesting" and is not supported in other text. But I'm just learning to identify the trees, palms and gymnosperms - what do I know. I certainly see more clearly what I don't know......
4 people found this helpful
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Muriel Vasconcellos
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book on California trees
Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2022
Verified Purchase
As a landscape designer, I already have a collection of books on California trees. However, this little compact book is now my favorite. It packs an enormous amount of easy-to-understand information into a small space and covers almost all the trees that I see in my area (San Diego). It would be a perfect textbook for a class in tree identification. I have already recommended it to a colleague, who purchased two copies
3 people found this helpful
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LakeKids
5.0 out of 5 stars You NEED this book!
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2013
Verified Purchase
If you love trees and wonder what that tree down the street is because you can't remember the name, it's probably in this book if you live in California. We had been puzzling over a friends tree trying to identify it through Western Gardens and other plant books, but no luck. Asked at our local nursery, Bay Laurel in Atascadero and the helpful lady said to try this book because it was written by a local Professor at Cal Poly in SLO. Ordered through Amazon and opened it to the first page and THERE IS WAS, ITEM NUMBER ONE !! Amazing! Now we have gone through it several times and are finding so many interesting trees that we never knew about, or at last, found the name of that it's our go-to book for street trees. The page identifies bark, leaf, flower, seed or pod, and at least one photo in color of the tree. Really helpful and just interesting to read, especially the "Quotes" at the bottom of the page, little sayings or thoughts to ponder. Love this book.
2 people found this helpful
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John Thibodeau
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, sometimes hard to use
Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2014
Verified Purchase
Book does a great job of presenting the trees around us in Southern California. Pictures of the trees are taken from this area, and some may be recognizable to you. The written description accompanying each tree is great to read as well. Hats off to Matt for putting this book together.

The reason I took off one star, was because the key that you will need to use over and over again to figure out what tree you are looking at, is hard to use. There are no pictures or diagrams to help you navigate, and often times I felt lost. I also have A Field Guide to Western Trees: Western United...by Petrides. I find that book much easier to use for tree identification. However, since most trees on our streets and in our parks are non-native, the Petrides book is often times unhelpful, since it only describes native trees. Which is why you'll likely have to buy this book to know what tree is in your front yard.

All in all, though, a great book. Buy it and start walking around your neighborhood.
11 people found this helpful
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ATang
5.0 out of 5 stars Best investment I made
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2015
Verified Purchase
My New Year resolution for 2015 was to know the name of every tree along the streets where I take my morning walk. Half a year later, I have reached >90% of my goal (>70 trees.) The tool I have for this task is Matt Ritter's "Californian's Guide to the Trees among Us." I am still reading The Book regularly because this small book (150 pages) packs so much useful information. No, it is not an encyclopedia as some unreasonable reader may expect, but it has everything one needs to know in order to identify a tree in one's neighborhood, especially in North California where I live.
3 people found this helpful
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Dion
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book
Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2012
Verified Purchase
I love this book. It shows nearly all (if not all) of the most commonly used decoration trees used in California. The book is extremely well laid out and is aesthetically pleasing. The book is also a huge source of information, with everything from how to pronounce the latin scientific name for the tree (and what it means) to where the tree is originally from, progression of the change of color of leaves, and so on. If you have any interest in all the trees you see around you in California, I recommend this book. Now I know what kind of tree I have in my front yard (a sweetgum tree).
2 people found this helpful
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David
5.0 out of 5 stars There’s a demon inside
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2019
Verified Purchase
This is a world where nothing is solved. You know, someone once told me time is a flat circle. Everything we’ve ever done or will do, we’re gonna do over and over and over again.
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