Our Plants (List)

Shaw’s agave grows naturally in the southwest corner of coastal San Diego County. It occurs in only a few locations but becomes more common in Baja, Mexico. Another subspecies (goldmania) is found further south on the Baja peninsula. Shaw’s agave is widely planted in gardens in Southern California because of its…

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 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…

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…

The one leaf onion is one of the more popular of our native alliums. It is easy to grow and presents one to several prominent umbels of flowers white or pink. One leaf onion is found in clay soils in coastal mountains from Oregon to Baja. Following summer and winter…

White alder is widespread in California and beyond, growing as a vase-shaped tree in moist settings. In Santa Clara County the white alder has slowly re-populated the valley along perennial waterways. The oval leaves and silver bark are reminders that white alder is a member of the birch family. Young…