Our Plants (List)

Meadow lupine grows in moist places throughout much of the mountainous regions of Northern California. It grows in a large, expanding mound of large solid green leaves to about two feet. The typical lupine flowers – successive whirls on tall spires – range in color from blue to purple and…

The coastal bush lupine is one of California’s more robust lupine species. It grows in coastal settings as a dense mound of light green foliage to a height of three feet or more. The spring flowers are generally yellow, but a small population in San Mateo County displays flowers of…

California’s lupines are unusually diverse. Some are tall shrubs, others prostrate ground cover; some are annuals, others perennial; some inhabit alpine settings, others valley grasslands; some thrive in very dry chaparral, others require constant moisture. That’s a wide range for a single Genus! River bank lupine grows in many plant…

This outstanding lupine is endemic to the interior coastal mountains just north of San Francisco. Cobb Mountain is the tallest peak in the Mayacamas range in Lake County. It grows as a low mound of silvery gray palmate leaves up to about 18 inches. The leaflets are rather wide for…

The arroyo lupine adds a swath of spring color in many habitats throughout California and northern Baja. It is native to all seven counties of the San Francisco Bay Area. It grows in an upright, vase-shaped form up to about a meter in height. The leaves are olive green and…

The Baja desert thorn has an unusual “split” range. It is found along the immediate coast and Channel Islands from Long Beach into Baja, but also in the interior deserts into the Southwest. This member of the nightshade family grows as an upright shrub with gray bark, almost succulent tear-drop…