PETERSON FIELD GUIDES: WESTERN TREES by...

PETERSON FIELD GUIDES: WESTERN TREES by George A. Petrides and Olivia Petrides (Houghton Mifflin: $15.95, illustrated). Sponsored by the National Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, the Peterson Field Guides rank among the most attractive and accessible books on nature and wildlife. Sensibly organized by appearance rather than taxonomic relationship, “Western Trees” covers 387 species, including all the native trees and the most common varieties that have escaped from cultivation. Although the book is intended primarily for hikers and campers, it also can be used to identify the familiar trees in neighborhood windbreaks, near freeways, etc., including two that have become identified with Southern California: the Washington Fan Palm (a native species, named for George Washington) and the Bluegum Eucalyptus, an Australian import.