\u201cThe Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits\u201d was the earliest (1897 \u2013 the Miller Library has the 1921 third edition) West Coast book published in a recognizably field guide format.\u00a0 Text author Mary Elizabeth Parsons (1859-1947) was born in Chicago, but spent most of her life in California.\u00a0 She was a keen student of the state\u2019s botany and studied with noted botanist Alice Eastwood at the California Academy of Science in San Francisco.<\/p>\n
Her book reflects her scientific discipline by including a \u201cHow to Use the Book\u201d introduction, a glossary of botanical terms, and keys to distinguish plant families.\u00a0 She goes on to describe these families \u2013 all of flowering plants \u2013 with a count of the genera and species as known worldwide and in the state at that time.\u00a0 This makes the book a useful time capsule of botanical history.<\/p>\n
Parsons also studied art, but she asked Margaret Warriner Buck (1857-1929) to illustrate the book and accompany her explorations of the state.\u00a0 With few exceptions, Buck drew her simple but effective pen-and-ink drawings in the field.\u00a0 All these efforts paid off, as the \u201cThe Wild Flowers of California\u201d remained a standard through several editions into the middle of the 20th<\/sup> century.\u00a0 Later editions included color plates by Buck, also known for her work with the early years of \u201cSunset\u201d magazine. The Miller Library also has the 1960 edition<\/a>, available to borrow.<\/p>\n In addition to her attention to detail, Parsons captured the joy of being a field botanist.\u00a0 \u201cEvery walk into the fields is transformed from an aimless ramble into a joyous, eager quest, and every journey upon state or railroad becomes a rare opportunity for making new plant-acquaintances\u2014a season of exhilarating excitement.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Excerpted from the Winter 2020 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cThe Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits\u201d was the earliest (1897 \u2013 the Miller Library has the 1921 third edition) West Coast book published in a recognizably field guide format.\u00a0 Text author Mary Elizabeth Parsons (1859-1947) was born in Chicago, but spent most of her life in California.\u00a0 She was a keen student of the state\u2019s botany and studied with noted botanist Alice Eastwood at the California Academy of Science in San Francisco. Her book reflects her…<\/p>\n