If you’d like to learn about the diverse native species in Marin County but are having trouble identifying what you see, we’ve compiled a number of resources to aid you.
PlantID.net
A site that makes it fun to identify plants in the wild. It will let you choose from a number of descriptive details using the California Plant Finder. It also lets you choose a plant guide, or a local plant list for a specific park or trail. Well worth exploring.
Species Guides for Marin and the SF Bay Area
Descriptions with photos of various species and communities occurring in Marin.
Flower Sheets for Marin
Sheets showing twenty thumbnail images of plants for the chosen area.
SF Plant Finder
A plant database for creating habitat in San Francisco that may also be useful generally.
Marin Flora
The most complete reference for the flora of Marin county, authored by John Thomas Howell with CNPS and the California Academy of Sciences. Available through our chapter store here.
Recommended Books on Native Plants
Enthusiastic amateurs and knowledgeable botanists alike will find field guides, identification keys, and engaging reading on this list.
Sedges of Marin
An interactive visual and text-based keys guide to aid specialists, conservationists and enthusiasts in identification of sedge species in Marin County and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Wildflower Search Engine
Search for western wildflowers by location, color, shape and time. 3,282 plants indexed.
Wildflowers of Point Reyes National Seashore
Guide to the most common and conspicuous wildflowers, organized by flower color.