Gypsy Jan
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4275
Registered: 1-27-2004
Member Is Offline
Mood: Depends on which way the wind is blowing
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Baja plant guide earns book honors
From The San Diego Union Tribune
By Deborah Sullivan Brennan
"The San Diego Natural History Museum's guide to Baja California flora racked up book awards this summer for its encyclopedic treatment of plants
south of the border.
The third edition of the Baja California Plant Field Guide, authored by Jon Rebman, the museum's curator of botany, received a gold award for the
reference category in the Independent Publisher Book Awards. It also pulled in honors for design, reference, travel and local interest in various
other publishing contests.
The guide, published last year, updates the original volumes released by San Diego naturalist Norman Roberts, substantially expanding the number and
diversity of plants covered. The book describes over 715 species - nearly twice the amount of the original volume - Rebman said.
The original volume offered an intimately curated selection of Baja flora, driven largely by Roberts fascination with the region.
"Some plants were chosen simply because we like them," the introduction states. "Other plants were omitted solely because we dislike them."
While Rebman retained that language from earlier editions, he added a more diverse selection of plants in order to convey the breadth of Baja's
botany.
For instance, he added entries on unglamorous but important plants such as grasses. But he also maintained descriptions of exceptional specimens, such
as Thurber Pilostyles, a little known parasitic plant that grows exclusively within the stem of host plants. Or the 70-foot tall Cardon Cactus, which
forms forests of towering succulents.
The book will benefit travelers, Rebman said, but also those who wish to get a better grasp of botany at home; about half the plants in Baja also grow
in San Diego.
"I've told a lot of the natural history stories, so people get an awareness and appreciation of plants around them," Rebman said.
With 60 percent of proceeds going back to the museum's botany department, the book's sales also help cultivate understanding of Baja's flora."
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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John M
Super Nomad
Posts: 1922
Registered: 9-3-2003
Location: California High Desert
Member Is Offline
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Available where?
Where is this available?
John M
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Jack Swords
Super Nomad
Posts: 1095
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: Nipomo, CA/La Paz, BCS
Member Is Offline
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http://www.amazon.com/Baja-California-Plant-Field-Guide/dp/0...
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64862
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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I bought mine at Discover Baja Travel Club... It is so beautiful, I fear taking to Baja where it may get dirty! I always took the previous edition
with me, however.
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BajaLuna
Senior Nomad
Posts: 581
Registered: 12-5-2012
Location: Pacific Northwest/Bahia Asuncion
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Mood: groovy
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Can't wait to get my hands on this book!!!
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