Plant ID sources

I want to thank everyone in the group who has
contributed suggestions for on-line sources of
information, and in particular, how to do an on-line
searches by plant genus, which I was unaware of how to
do...  
This list of books are some of my personal library
favorites for Plant Selection for California.  To keep
this list from dragging on, I won't list my favorites
for deserts, tropicals and bromeliads, which are my
other true loves.  Some suggestions, ( in no
particular order), for good references for
mediterranean and subtropical plants are:

1.  Indoor and Greenhouse plants, by Roger Phillips
and Martin Rix, 2 volumes, great pictures and good
geographic and habitat descriptions, very good
representation of plants from all of the mediterranean
climatic regions, with an emphasis on those available
in the British Nursery trade.  ( The plants listed as
being grown in Harry Hay's garden alone make me wish I
could visit him!)
2.  Dry Climate Gardening with Succulents,American
Garden Guides/Huntington Botanical Gardens, a great
pictorial and design reference book with heavy
emphasis on succulents and xeriphytic plants
3.  The Gardener's Guide to South African Plants,
Pitta Joffe, a good book for general south African
plants, good photos also
4.  Landscape Plants for Western Regions, Bob Perry,
with a more ecological approach to landscape design
and plant selection, ( dealing with subject matter
such as longterm maintenance considerations,
sustainable landscape design principles,estimated
water requirements, etc.
5.  Royal Horticultural Society's index of Garden
Plants, Mark Griffiths, a very inclusive list of
cultivated plants from around the world, the one book
where I can almost always find a listing for what I am
trying to find.
6.  Checklists for Ornamental Plants for Subtropical
Regions, Roland Stewart Hoyt, a great reference book
for lists of plants by type or category, design
characteristics/requirements/purpose adaptation. etc. 
This author also does a very credible job of ranking
plants within each category.  No photos however...
7.  Reference Lists of Ornamental Plants for Southern
California Gardens, philip E. Chandler, another
general refernce book with lists, more concise and
targeted to California than Roland Hoyt's book, which
has has many plants listed for Florida/Hawaii as for
California...
8.  Water Conserving Plants and Landscapes for the Bay
Area, by East Bay Municipal Utility District.  A good
general purpose reference book with photos of the more
common drought tolerant plants, which many Northern
and Southern California municipalities cite as their
designated permitted master plant list for code
required drought tolerant plantings.  ( I find this
frustrating in the extreme, when a city will not
permit a plant species unless it is listed here, but
that's another story...)
9.  Low Water Use Plants for California and the
Southwest, Carol Shuler.  Similar in scope and
function to #8 above, but with more emphasis on desert
and hot climate arid species.
10.  Complete Garden Guide to the Native Perennials of
California, Glenn Keator.  Comprehensive selection of
California natives which are perennial.
11.  Austraflora Guide to Choosing and Growing
Australian Plants, Bill Molyneux and Sue Forrester,
This book lists many more Australian plants than one
could ever hope to find in California nurseries, and
is good for determining native habitat conditions and
tolerances for drought and frost.  Not many photos,
but good descriptions.
12.  Flowering Plants in the Landscape, Mildred
Matthias.  Mainly subtropical plants, good pictures,
and a departure from the most commonly seen plants of
southern California.

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