Introduction

In over 100 years of existence, the UC Berkeley campus has been landscaped into an eclectic collection of plants from around the world. The campus flora represents not only the exotic species, but also the common plants. As a result, the campus is the perfect place to become familiar with a huge variety of plant species.

There already exists a comprehensive guide to trees on the campus. Trees of the Berkeley Campus, by Robert A. Cockrell of the College of Natural Resources, details the taxonomy and location of practically every tree on the campus. Unfortunately, the last edition of Trees of the Berkeley Campus was published in 1976; to my knowledge, it is no longer in print.

Trees of the Berkeley Campus is exhaustively detailed. But perhaps its one shortcoming is its layout. Using the book, it is often difficult to locate a particular tree on campus. The guide is more focussed on text descriptions of the species, rather than visual examples. In the present guide, the focus is somewhat different. It does not attempt to duplicate the work in Professor Cockrell’s book; in fact his work is one of the primary sources of information for this text. Rather, the present guide focuses on creating a short botanical tour that focuses on trees that are important, common, or otherwise notable in the California environment.

The ability to identify common tree species is important for any natural scientist. A great deal of information can be inferred from a region’s vegetation. The transition from oak dominated landscapes to coniferous ones can indicate a change in available moisture, for instance. One of the best ways to learn how to distinguish between different types of flora is to have a clear picture of a real world example. Descriptions such as “oppositely arraigned pinnate leaves with serrated margins” will go only so far in assisting in a field identification, especially for those for whom botany is not their primary subject, or for those without a key on hand.

Therefore, whenever possible, there are several pictures of each plant, showing both leaf structure and the entire individual. In addition, The location of an example of the particular plant on the UC Berkeley campus is given as precisely as possible: the idea behind this guide is not to create a treasure hunt for trees; rather, it attempts to be a starting point in the construction of a practical ability to recognize trees in the field.

As a result, the List of Species and their Common Names is arraigned by the common name of the group of trees, rather than by the scientific family name. The sub-entries in the table show specific names and common names, and the page on which information concerning that particular plant can be found. The page numbers also refer to the numbers on the associated campus map. As such, the List of Species is also the key to the map.