This delivers what you would want from a guide: a nice layout, enough photographs to make identifying easy, and plenty of cross referencing in the back. There is a solid amount of time put into the geography, boundaries, topography, climate, and human presences over the history. This third edition updates previous editions with new maps, more classifications, and new photographs (this time all by the authors). As the authors noted, there have been several superblooms in recent years to help with updating the book.
The classification system is broken down by the color of the flower: blue/purple/lavender; pink/rose/magenta; red/orange; white/cream; yellow; green/brown. There is also a section on grasses. The introduction includes chapters on: geography, climate, topography, geology, desert soils, rock surfaces, past vegetation, past human use, early botanical exploration, present vegetation, plant adaptations to the desert climate, threats to the flora, climate change/global warming, present conservation. There is a glossary, index of synonyms, and further reading recommendations at the back.
The layout is clean and easy to follow. We get 1-2 photographs (a close up or pull back where needed), description, bloom season, habitat/range, and comments. Comments can include everything from how the flower/fruit was used, how they are pollenated, viability, similar varieties, how the genus was named, etc.
In all, a great guide for identifying and better understanding the plants/flowers in the Mojave desert area. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.
The Online Eccentric Librarian 