Our Plants (List)

Nevada agave occurs at higher elevations along the eastern edge of Inyo and San Bernardino Counties. The agaves are more commonly encountered at lower elevations in the deserts of the Southwest. Nevada agave is unusual in its tolerance of extreme cold. The growth form is typical with whirls of thick…

This attractive grass is widespread in western North America from British Columbia to Mexico. In California it grows in forest openings and meadows in mountains throughout the state. Diego bent grass forms a spreading patch of bright green, finely textured blades to a height of a foot. In a natural…

This little onion is native to low to mid-elevations of the mountains of Northern California. Its range includes much of the Pacific Northwest and southern British Columbia. It grows in typical allium fashion with a whorl of grass-like basal leaves emerging in late winter and early spring. Once the bulb…

California is home to about 75 taxa (species, subspecies and varieties) of wild onions. These are distributed across many plant communities, but generally grow in open, mountainous settings. Like culinary onions (also in the Allium genus), they grow from an underground bulb as a fountain of narrow, grass-like leaves followed…

This little wild onion grows on the Pacific side of coastal mountains from San Luis Obispo County into northern Mexico. After summer dormancy and the onset of cool winter rains it sends up several grass-like leaves. As the bulb grows and divides over years, more and more leaves appear. Lifting…

The glassy onion is a common member of grassland communities on the lower slopes of the western Sierra Nevada and the southern SF Bay Area (Santa Clara County). After its long summer dormancy, the glassy onion greets the winter rains with several long narrow leaves. These are followed in early…