Philip A. Munz
Encyclopedia
Philip A. Munz, botanist, taxonomist and educator (1892–1974), of the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
, was Professor of Botany at Pomona College
, serving as Dean for three years.
Munz compiled the voluminous A California Flora with David D. Keck
published by the University of California
Press in 1959 and a supplement in 1968. Munz published A California Flora without any research support and with a relatively small subvention for publication to the University of California Press.
James Hickman, editor of the 1993 revisions of the The Jepson Manual
, writing in The Blazing Star (the newsletter of the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society), Sept./Oct., 1993 states "Munz used a phylogenetic system which so far as I know has never been explained in print except for a statement on the inside of the front portion of the dust jacket, 'It abandons the conventional family order and attempts to follow that suggested by recent contributions from morphology and phylogeny.' Floras are not a place to introduce new phylogenetic systems. In Munz' 1974 A Flora of Southern California he saw the light and arranged the families alphabetically within major groups."
Munz also authored a series of popular plant guides, published by the UC Press, entitled the California Wildflower Books, for general readers interested in botany but untrained in taxonomy.
Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
The Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden is a botanical garden in Claremont, California, in the United States, just south of the San Gabriel foothills. The garden, at , is a non-profit organization dedicated to California native plants...
, was Professor of Botany at Pomona College
Pomona College
Pomona College is a private, residential, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Founded in 1887 in Pomona, California by a group of Congregationalists, the college moved to Claremont in 1889 to the site of a hotel, retaining its name. The school enrolls 1,548 students.The founding member...
, serving as Dean for three years.
Munz compiled the voluminous A California Flora with David D. Keck
David D. Keck
David Daniel Keck was an American botanist who was notable for his work on angiosperm taxonomy and genetics....
published by the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
Press in 1959 and a supplement in 1968. Munz published A California Flora without any research support and with a relatively small subvention for publication to the University of California Press.
James Hickman, editor of the 1993 revisions of the The Jepson Manual
The Jepson Manual
The Jepson Manual, Higher Plants of California is a collection of identification keys to help biologists identify the vascular plants within the state of California...
, writing in The Blazing Star (the newsletter of the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society), Sept./Oct., 1993 states "Munz used a phylogenetic system which so far as I know has never been explained in print except for a statement on the inside of the front portion of the dust jacket, 'It abandons the conventional family order and attempts to follow that suggested by recent contributions from morphology and phylogeny.' Floras are not a place to introduce new phylogenetic systems. In Munz' 1974 A Flora of Southern California he saw the light and arranged the families alphabetically within major groups."
Munz also authored a series of popular plant guides, published by the UC Press, entitled the California Wildflower Books, for general readers interested in botany but untrained in taxonomy.
- A California Flora and supplement 1959 & 1973 - P.A. Munz & D. D. Keck. UC Press - ISBN 0-520-02405-2
- California Spring Wildflowers - 1961 University of California Press
- California Desert Wildflowers - 1962 University of California Press
- California Mountain Wildflowers - 1963 University of California Press
- Shore Wildflowers of California, Oregon and Washington - 1964 University of California Press