Our Plants (List)

This member of the sunflower family grows in coastal mountains from southern Monterey County into northern Baja, Mexico. It prefers woodland and chaparral settings. Sacapellote grows as an expanding fountain of stems with fairly large lance-shaped leaves. The leaves are somewhat sticky and clasp the stem. In spring many of…

Red baneberry is found throughout much of the USA and Canada. In California its range includes the Sierra Nevadas, the Cascades and the coast ranges north of Santa Cruz County, with a few scattered populations elsewhere. Red baneberry prefers shady sites with rich acidic soil and moisture. Following winter dormancy,…

Houndstongue is native to the lower foothills of the Sierra and coastal mountains from San Luis Obispo County north into Oregon. It is common in shady areas of woodlands and chaparral. The wide, dark leaves grow from the taproot in winter. In early spring a flower stock rises above the…

Chamise is a common member of chaparral plant communities throughout California. It grows as an upright open shrub with small leaves somewhat like rosemary in appearance and twisted shredding bark. The flowers appear in late spring, covering the plant with a cream white display. A stand of blooming chamise can…

‘Nicolas’ chamise is a prostrate selection of this widespread native. It forms a dense mound to about three feet. It shares the qualities of the species (see the entry for Adenostoma fasciculatum) and adds the more compact size and cleaner appearance. ‘Nicolas’ is derived from cuttings taken on St Nicolas…

‘Nicolas’ chamise is a prostrate selection of this widespread native. It forms a dense mound to about three feet. It shares the qualities of the species (see the entry for Adenostoma fasciculatum) and adds the more compact size and cleaner appearance. ‘Nicolas’ is derived from cuttings taken on St Nicolas…

Chamise is a common member of chaparral plant communities throughout California. It grows as an upright open shrub with small leaves somewhat like rosemary in appearance and twisted shredding bark. The flowers appear in late spring, covering the plant with a cream white display. A stand of blooming chamise can…

Red shanks grows from San Luis Obispo County south into Mexico. It grows into an open tree with shredding strips (“shanks”) on red and gray bark and feathery fronds of small leaves. The flower color is cream white as with the closely related chamise, Adenostoma fasciculatum. With careful pruning, redshanks…

While California is home to a great variety of narrow endemic plants (i.e. plants found within a very narrow geographic range), it is also home to many wide-ranging species. The five finger fern is one such plant. It ranges from Alaska to Mexico, with isolated populations even occurring in the…