This page gives access to 16 index pages with links to photos of named plants (some identified only to genus.) There are about 5,800 photos so far, of over 2,250 species (including subspecies and varieties), and I am continuing to add more. The plants are from all over the world. Most of the ones from North America and southern France were photographed in the wild; the rest are from botanical gardens. There is some overlap with the plants in the Horticultural Plants section, but if I have a scientific name for the plant I included it here, on the assumption that it probably grows wild somewhere. There are separate sections for trees, grasses and ferns, accessed through Nature Misc but they are also included here in Wild Plants.

Plants from the Sierra Nevada in California were mostly identified by trained botanists from voucher specimens, so the names are likely to be quite accurate. Names from botanical gardens are also likely to be mostly solid. Names of plants from southern France, and plants from elsewhere in North America, were determined by myself from guidebooks, with occasional help from experts, and almost certainly contain some errors. For the sake of simplicity I have not italicized the scientific names on the website.

Work is in progress on a new field guide to the wildflowers and flowering shrubs of the Sierra Nevada. For a short preview (formerly on the website www.sierraplants.com) go to Sierra wildflowers book. Photos that are planned to be used in the book are available only for limited use at this time.

Many plants have changed their scientific name in the last few years. A partial list of these changes for California plants on this website can be found at
Recent Name Changes

I am adding photos and updating information on an ongoing basis. If you have corrections to suggest, or names for any of the mystery plants, I'd appreciate hearing from you.
You can email me, Stephen Sharnoff, at lichen@idiom.com