Trails, Parks and Environmental Links

Specialized Resources

Natural History

San Francisco Bay Area Resources

Almaden Wildflowers

Showcases the wide variety of California wildflowers that grow on the hills and ridges around the IBM Alamaden Research Center.

Bay Area Hiker - Wildflowers

Bay Area wildflower photos and descriptions (including where to look.

California Native Plant Society - Santa Clara Valley

Features The Blazing Star -- the online version of the Santa Clara Valley CNPS chapter's journal, as well as a guide to what's in bloom. The Santa Clara Valley CNPS works to preserve native flora in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

Myko Web

Features Fungi of the San Francisco Bay Area - descriptions of over 300 species of fungi found in the greater San Francisco Bay Area of California, illustrated with over 1100 photographs; and an online reprint of Harry D. Thiers' Boletes of California, as well as other information of interest to fungi enthusiasts.

Photo Album of Coe Park Wildflowers

Photographs of 95 species of wildflowers that grow in Coe Park. Focuses on portraying the beauty of the flowers, not necessarily to record diagnostic features.

Tilden Park - What's in Bloom

Calendar and photos of blooming plants in Berkeley's Tilden Park.

California and Western U.S. Resources

CalFlora Database Project

This project hosted by the UC Berkeley Digital Library Project includes four databases on all the 8375 currently recognized vascular plants in California, over 670,000 plant observation records, and over 20,000 photos: Species (search by common, scientific or family name, location, elevation, plant community, etc.), Occurrence (distribution maps, similar to Jepson maps), Synonomyms (find current and older scientific names) and CalPhotos: Plants (search by common or scientific name, location, color, etc.). A search by species usually yields one or more photos, synonyms and maps.

California Native Plant Society

Organization dedicated to preserving CA's flora in their natural habitat. Web site provides in-depth information on the organization's programs, including conservation, education, legislation, plant science, publications and events.

California Wildflowers - California Academy of Sciences

Find flowers by color, common name, botanical name or location.

CalWeed Database - California Noxious Weed Control Projects Inventory

A combined government/private/non-profit effort to establish a database, accessible through the Internet, containing information on noxious weed control in California. This information will further the practice and science of noxious weed control and assist agencies and practitioners doing noxious weed control throughout the state.

Desert Wildflower Watch - California

Wildflower reports for Anza-Borego, Death Valley and Josjhua Tree National Parks. Main site also covers Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. Includes a desert Wildflower Field Guide.

Manual of California Vegetation - CNPS

Digital version of the book A Manual of California Vegetation published through the California Native Plant Society.

Vascular Plants of California: Checklist and distribution maps of taxa covered by the Jepson Manual

Useful in conjunction with the Jepson Manual; requires scientific genus or species name.

Wildflower Hotsheet

Site hosted on the Picture This commercial site; features tips on where to find wildflowers across California. The main site also hosts several other similar lists, including "Bay Area Ramblings" - tips on great places to photograph wildlife and landscapes.

Wildflowers in Bloom at Pinnacles

Photos, names and locations.

U.S. National Resources

Checklist of Online Vegetation and Plant Distribution Maps

Checklist and links to worldwide flora resources.

See the Trail Center Outdoor Activity Guide for more local recreational and volunteer opportunities. If you have a site to suggest for this page, please e-mail us a link and a brief review.