Common Mosses of Western Oregon and Washington. 2018. 529 col. figs. IV, 148 p. Paper bd.

This is the first introductory all-color guide to mosses for any part of the Pacific Northwest of North America. Written by authors with decades of experience studying and teaching about mosses in the Pacific Northwest, the book provides an entry into the lush, intricate world of mosses. These miniature plants combine to form spectacular carpets on the forest floor, lushly drape trees and shrubs, and create beautiful gardens on rock outcrops. Mosses are an ecologically important and beautiful, but often neglected, part of the biodiversity of western Oregon and Washington. The book is aimed at serious amateurs, naturalists, and professional botanists at beginning to intermediate levels. It includes 200 species in 100 genera, with keys; 529 micro- and macro-scale color photographs; notes on distribution, abundance, and habitats; and an illustrated glossary. Brief descriptions of each species are embedded in the keys. While the geographic area covered by the book is the area west of the crest of the Cascade Range in Oregon and Washington, the book will also be useful in a much broader area of the western U.S. and Canada, including coastal Alaska, British Columbia, and California. It will alsobe useful in the inland oceanic forests of northern Idaho and western Montana. A compound microscope will be necessary to identify many of the species, although some genera and even species can be identified without using a compound microscope.