Our Plants (List)

California box thorn bush is found in coastal settings from Santa Monica in Los Angeles County south into Baja, Mexico. It also grows on all the Channel Islands. Although from a warmer climate, it has grown well in Santa Clara County, even during the extended wet and cold of the…

The Santa Cruz Island ironwood is one of the jewels from the Channel Islands that has found wide use in California landscapes. In prehistoric times this tree was widespread on the mainland. The rise of the coastal mountains and subsequent drying of the interior eliminated it from all but the…

Elegant tarweed is named for the fragrant resin produced by the stems and leaves. The resultant sharp, pleasant aroma characterizes hot summer days in the open areas in which it grows. Elegant tarweed grows as a tall, narrow little sunflower topped with numerous round yellow flowers, often with red centers….

False Solomon seal is one of relatively few plants found in California that are also found throughout much of North America. Its range extends from Alaska, through all of Canada and much of the US. In California it grows in shady montane settings. In Santa Clara County one can observe…

San Clemente Island is the most southern of California’s Channel Islands. In this warm, dry climate several plant species have evolved which are found nowhere else, among them San Clemente Island chicory, Munzothamnus blairii, and San Clemente Island triteleia, Trileleia clementina. The removal of introduced goats from the island has…

The mallow family has many representatives in California. The plants of the genus malacothamnus are known for their vigorous, dense growth and abundant, usually pink, flowers. The many-flowered mallow bush is found in Orange and San Diego Counties. It grows in an open, rounded form with round, gray-green leaves. In…

The chaparral mallow is the most common bush mallow of the Santa Cruz Mountains and Diablo range, roughly the northern extent of its range. This fire-follower is found in chaparral and coastal scrub communities where it receives little summer water. The chaparral mallow grows as an open shrub with white,…

The chaparral mallow is the most common bush mallow of the Santa Cruz Mountains and Diablo range, roughly the northern extent of its range. This fire-follower is found in chaparral and coastal scrub communities where it receives little summer water. The chaparral mallow grows as an open shrub with white,…