California Plants: A Guide to Our Iconic Flora

There are more than 5,000 native species in California. One in five is now rare or endangered, and Ritter’s richly illustrated field guide to those spectacular natives seeks to raise awareness of the unique beauty that’s at risk. Former California Governor Jerry Brown writes in the book’s foreword, “Matt Ritter teaches us to better understand how our future is linked to that of all other living things: our soil, our microbiota, and our wonderful and indomitable native plants.”

Matt will use his beautiful photographs, insight and humor to share the natural history of California’s fascinating plants. A book signing will follow the presentation.

Dr. Matt Ritter grew up in rural Mendocino County. After earning a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from UC Santa Barbara, he attended UC San Diego for a PhD in plant biology. 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). He gave an entertaining lecture to the Horticultural Society about that book at the time.

Matt has also authored many scientific papers, writes a regular column about tree diversity for Pacific Horticulture and won the Cal Poly Excellence in Teaching Award and the Western Chapter International Society of Arboriculture Award for Excellence in Education. He’s an avid woodworker, mason and gardener.