Our Plants (List)

Indian mallow is one of many California natives that do exceptionally well outside of their native range. While indian mallow is native to hot, dry, rocky slopes, it grows beautifully and is quite hardy in many settings. The leaves are light olive-green and are given a frosty appearance by a…

This California endemic occurs in coastal settings along the central coast and SF Bay Area. Strangely, the species, though not our variety, is also found in southern Chile and Argentina. That presumably explains part of the unusual common name. Argentinian biddy biddy grows as a low mound of dark green…

California copperleaf is a plant like no other in California. It is a member of the highly diverse spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, and the only member of the genus in California. This attractive shrub grows in chaparral settings in the lower peninsular ranges from Los Angeles County into Baja, where both…

Vine maple grows in the cool understory of larger trees in the northwestern portion of the state. The small lobed leaves of this maple display shades of yellow, green and red throughout the year before falling in autumn to reveal the attractively sculpted, reddish gray branches. Site vine maple in…

This fast growing maple thrives along the west coast from Alaska to southern California. It prefers sites that are at least seasonally moist, where its roots can access subterranean water all year. In Santa Clara County one often finds it within a stone’s throw of waterways, though rarely streamside. The…

This fast growing maple thrives along the west coast from Alaska to southern California. It prefers sites that are at least seasonally moist, where its roots can access subterranean water all year. In Santa Clara County one often finds it within a stone’s throw of waterways, though rarely streamside. The…

Box elder is a common member of riparian and valley plant communities throughout much of California, especially coastal mountains from Mendocino County to Baja. It quickly grows in a rounded form to about 35 feet, rarely larger. The light green compound leaves have three to five leaflets that may be…

Yarrow is widespread in California and throughout the northern portions of the Northern Hemisphere (the “circumboreal” region). In California it is only excluded by the deserts of the southeast. Wherever found, yarrow grows as an expanding patch of soft, fragrant, fronds of tiny leaflets (millefolium = a thousand leaves). The…

California’s yarrow is distinctly adaptable, occurring in a wide range of habitats from high montane to chaparral to coastal scrub. Typically dormant it springs to life with feathery foliage (millefolium = a thousand leaves) and a dense umbel of tiny flowers frequented by butterflies. While the flower is usually white,…