Our Plants (List)

Bearbrush is an unusual local silk tassel bush. Although it occurs in many mountainous settings throughout the state it is more common north of Monterey County. Bearbrush seems to favor open chaparral. Locally one may find it growing at the summit of Mt. Umunhum in the Sierra Azul Open Space…

The southern silk tassel bush is found in California’s coastal mountains from San Luis Obispo County into Baja. It is one of six Garrya species in California, all of which share several characteristics which make them an excellent choice for the garden. They grow as rounded shrubs with gray-ish bark….

Salal is native to cool coastal regions from the Oregon border to Santa Barbara County. One often finds it under redwoods where little else is growing or growing densely in continuous fog drip. Salal grows as a mounding shrub with dark green leaves on reddish gray stems. This manzanita relative…

Largeleaf avens grows in moist, shady, mountainous sites throughout much of California and beyond. The deep-green leaves are round and lobed with serrated edges. These grow low to the ground in an expanding patch in the presence of moisture. The bright yellow flowers of this rose relative illuminate a shady…

Prairie smoke is native to much of North America west of the Missouri River and the northern Great Plains on into Canada. In California it is found in the eastern Sierra and eastern Cascades. Its preference for cold winters under a blanket of snow makes it something of an experiment…

The common gum plant has much to recommend it. The shiny, resinous leaves grow in an open mounding form. Abundant flower buds (topped with a sticky pad for which the plant is named) open into quite a display of bright yellow. When in bloom, Grindelia camporum is visited by quite…