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The plants of Santa Catalina Island have captured the imagination of botanists for well over a century, but recent work has provided exciting new insights and island - and archipelago-wide floristic synopses.

In this talk, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Plant Systematist and Curator Dr. Matt Guilliams will discuss the remarkable flora of the California Channel Islands, often referred to as California’s Galapagos Islands, with an emphasis on Catalina Island.

Work in the field and herbarium over the last two decades has resulted in a fresh understanding of the flora of the island, which is meticulously described in the upcoming book, A Flora of Santa Catalina Island.

This floristic work has been deepened by the recent application of genetic techniques to the study of plant biodiversity at all levels, from population genetics to phylogenetics of the entire Channel Islands flora.

The products of these recent efforts will contribute strongly to our understanding of plant biodiversity on Catalina Island, a critical first step toward protecting and conserving the flora of this iconic California landscape.