Paul's garden
Vine Maple Aceraceae
Acer circinatum
Big Leaf Maple Aceraceae
Acer macrophyllum
In the sidewalk against the base of our retaining wall. It's been broken off many times
& looks better every year.
California Maidenhair Fern Pteridophyta (Division)
Adiantum jordanii
They survive pretty well.
Five-finger Fern Pteridophyta (Division)
Adiantum pedatum
Did not survive without water.
California Buckeye Hippocastanaceae
Aesculus californica
I planted a few seeds (fall '99) on a very steep rocky bank where they will hopefully
get enough water to survive. There is a large existing tree next door (upwind) that
sprinkes us in blossoms.
Coastal Onion Liliaceae
Allium dichlamydeum
A few slender grasslike bulbs from Tiburon & some from a CNPS sale & a few others
from the Marin Headlands.
Pearly Everlasting Asteraceae
Anaphalis margaritacea
From a CNPS sale, they didn't grow well in pots from seed but came up in the cracks
between cobblestones or in other pots where they were not intended. I found 15 snails
one morning on my patch of pearly's. They didn't seem to hurt the plants, perhaps just
liked to rest there?
Burrowing Bees Apioidea Superfamily
Andrena
…looking, studying…
Western Columbine Ranunculaceae
Aquilegia
Aquilegia formosa, the typical species, Pretty flowers.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=17000&one=T
Aquilegia formosa truncata, Dwarf Wester Columbine is what we got at a CNPS sale, I
believe as a SF native.
Aquilegia exima, VanHoutte's or Sticky Columbine
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=18329&one=T
This one is strong & drought tolerant & larger than the species though the flowers are
somewhat less showy.
Coast Rock Cress Brassicaceae
Arabis blepharophylla
Did not survive in the shade & drought (without regular heavy fog).
Elk Clover Rosaceae
Arailia Californica (spelling?)
Didn't get enough water.
Manzanita Ericaeae
Arctostaphylos
'Sentinel' & A. manzanita 'Dr. Hurd' struggling in the shade.
California Pipevine Aristolchiaceae
Aristolochia californica
Here's my profusely blooming Pipevine:
http://www.EDGEHILL.net/pipevine.gif
Four years old, growing in super thick rich pine/ivy duff. Supposedly you need a
hundred yards of fenceline covered with pipevine to support a sustainable population
of swallowtails. I'm hoping I could start with a few as I grow more plants, I've got just
a hundred & fifty feet of fenceline. September, 2000, I've propagated a dozen & will
try to spread them around in willing neighbor's yards…
Coastal Sagebrush Asteraceae
Artemisia californica
The prostrate cultivar 'Canyon Grey' tangles it's self in a 'Snowball' Ceanothus,
managing to survive the winter shade.
Wild ginger Liliaceae
Asarum caudatum
Lady Fern Pteridophyta (Division)
Athyrum felix-femina
Bareley surviving without regular water.
Coyote Bush Asteraceae
Bacharis pilularis
A few here & there.
California Brome Poaceae
Bromus carinatus
http://www.edgehill.net/plants/grassB.htm
-------------------------------------------------------
Probably Bromus carinatus. I see it other places along the coast... Fairly common in
moist healthy meadows now that I notice it. Not a particularly bunching habit but more
open than the dense impenetrable annual grasses. A short lived perennial. Festuca &
Poa have similar dense symmetrical flattened spikelets dangling out like this but even
looser & smaller spikelets. Bromus carinatus has just one or two spikelets per branch,
the Ryes have one & The Fescues have many with more complex branching. Italian
Ryegrass, Lolium multiflorum and Perennial Ryegrass have the spikelets attached
directly to the main stem like the rightmost flower in the photo above (which are
actually on longer stems but appear closely attached). The following photo shows the
narrow attachment of the European Ryes:
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?where-taxon=Lolium+multiflorum&special=
calflora Bromus tectorum, Cheat Grass has very long awns:
http://ag.arizona.edu/classes/ram382/plntpix/brte.html
and is a very common & obviously weedy annual that can be easily spotted & pulled
along with Wild Oats (Avena fatua) & Quaking Grass (Briza) where more desirable
plants can be encouraged.
"Jeffrey A. Caldwell" wrote:
>
> A closer look at the flower heads would help. That second one looks like maybe a
Bromus hordaceus of the sort we used to call Bromus racemosus. If it's that variety the
flower heads would be a bit shiny; it likes moister and clayish soils here at the base of
the foothills in the western Santa Clara Valley.
Bromus hordaceus, B. racemosus [non-native annual from disturbed places according
to Jepson] -hmm, not too shiny I think...
Joshua Fodor wrote:
>
> Grass B is difficult to determine from the picture. It may be the native California
brome (Bromus carinatus) or a young specimen of the non-native Bromus catharticus
(Argentine brome or prairie brome). If the awns are very long it is the native, but if the
awns are very short or there are no awns and the spiklets are very compressed (flat) it
is the B. catharticus.
Bromus catharticus Rescue Grass, Argentine Brome or Prairie
Brome [non-native annual/short lived perennial] -hmm, not
too short & flat I hope... AKA B. willdenowii, B. haekeanus
or B. unioloides from disturbed deep rich valley soils. Good
grazing but dies back early.
http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/fa07/fa07081.jpg
-this detail shows no awns
Scott Stewart wrote:
>
> Grass B ...I thought it was Bromus catharticus but the awns are too long. Maybe
Bromus carinatus? Looks like it to me.
Sedge Poaceae
Carex sp.
I've got lots of Carex tumilicola from a CNPS sale & have been dividing it around
happily. It's not super fast to establish from little divisions but survives consistently. It
re-seeds in the cobblestone paving. One clump from Big Sur also; not sure of species.
Indian Paintbrush Schrophulariaceae
Castilleja
Sow Bugs ate most of the seedlings. I've got some surviving in a 12" clay pot with a
Buckwheat at the office.
California Lilac Rhamnaceae
Ceanothus thyrsiflorus
Two small leaved varieties: 'Snowball' (prostrate with shiny leaves) , 'Darkstar'
(upright with waxy wrinkled leaves) & a struggling large leafed common blue variety.
Spring Azure Lycaenidae
Celastrina ladon
Breifly abundant. We have all it's host plants except Chamise: Holodiscus, Aesculus,
Ceanothus & Cornus. Collinsia is mentioned in the Eastern US. However, it seems to
hang out in the invasive ornamental Morning Glory, perhaps just because it makes
suitable cover.
Mountain Mahogany Rosaceae
Cercocarpus betuloides
Soap Plant Liliaceae
Chlorogalum pomeridianum
A few dozen bulbs salvaged from a construction access cut thru park land on San
Rafael Hill (fall '99). A few older plants from bulldozer debris in Tiburon.
Chinquapin Fagaceae
Chrysolepis chrysophylla
I've tried growing the seed & it sprouted but did not survive.
Indian Lettuce Portulacaceae
Claytonia perfoliata
I planted montia under an old cypress in my back yard & it TOOK OVER which is
wonderful in the wet months but it covers everything & completely drys up in the
summer. I’m still holding out to see if it works out in the long run. Las Pilitas' web site
talks about native annuals that shrivel up in the summer & give their nutrients to the
mycorrhizal fungus which in turn feed the other plants that are tied into that system; as
opposed to some exotic weeds like radish that leave a huge dried mess above ground
that can’t be used by the community until it burns or decays. A couple of doves came to
eat the seeds all summer long.
Red Twig Dogwood Cornaceae
Cornus sericea
The most spectacular "tree" in our yard, it grew so so fast & is such a treat spilling
down the slope & hanging over the patio. It took five years to bloom fully after being
watered the first season & getting itself out of cycle. It still hasn't been pollinated to
any significant extent. The fruit is supposed to be abundant & succulent for birds.Host
to Spring Azure butterfly lavae. We have a tiny Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nutalii) in
it's shade, waiting slowly to become a 35 foot tree. We have a Brown Dogwood also
which the Leaf-cutter Bees sliced up… smoother leaves.
California Hazelnut Betulaceae
Corylus cornuta
The wind bends the taller branches till they die.
Tufted Hairgrass Poaceae
Deschampsia caespitosa
Single specimen is nearly dead.
Western Bleeding-heart Papaveraceae
Dicentra formosa
Drys out in summer but does well in winter. After some years of spreading loosely, our
dicentra have gathered together in a nice clump & are really looking at home now. I've
never seen it wild & thought it was from further North but it is listed in the San Bruno
Mountains flora (San Francisco). I divided a one gallon can into 20 plants from the
fleshy roots.
Blue Dicks Liliaceae
Dichelostemma capitatum
Some bulbs from a CNPS sale & salvaged from San Rafael Hill
Wild Hyacinth Liliaceae
Dichelostemma multiflorum
From a CNPS East Bay sale 10-'95, pale white/pinkish. Easy growing, vigorous.
Shooting Stars Primulaceae
Dodecatheon
Dodecatheon clevelandii, Padre's Shootingstar. Larger & paler pink, grows on Bernal
Heights in San Francisco.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=3908&one=T
Coastal Wood Fern Pteridophyta (Division)
Dryopteris arguta
Numerous divisions from a tiny clump I brought home from The Peninsula & others
from the Marin Headlands.
Liveforever Crassulaceae
Dudleya
I've got Dudleyas from little bits of branches found crumbling off road cuts & washed
up on beaches planted all over the back yard. From Salt Point, Tiburon, Marin
Headlands, etc. The silver one from Tiburon is happy on a sepentine rubble wall.
Blue Wild Rye Poaceae
Elymus glaucus
http://www.edgehill.net/plants/grassC.htm From Marin Gate trail
Joshua Fodor wrote:
> Grass C looks like the native Elymus glaucus (blue wild rye).
Scott Stewart wrote:
> ...an ecotype of Blue Wild Rye that you have pulled from a shady location.
That must be why it isn't blue, because it's from a
Northeast foggy slope.
Fireweed Onagraceae
Epilobium
Common ffrom windblown seeds. Tiny red flowers look closed then long seed pod
forms below like a Clarkia.
Hummingbird Bush Onagraceae
Epilobium cana
Moderate growth. I have rooted these by poking the fragile broken stems into moist
ground. I'm growing some on a dry rocky north slope & have had to pinch it back all
summer but it's beautiful now. Will get leggy with shade,
Stream orchid Orchidaceae
Epipactis gigantea
Has been trouble free in a low spot that gets plenty of winter & spring moisture.
Seaside Daisy Asteraceae
Erigeron glaucus
One specimen struggling.
Coast buckwheat Polygonceae
Eriogonum latifolium
I've got some Rosy Buckwheat, Eriogonum latifolium 'rubescens' that is somehow
managing to survive for years despite the total shade in winter. Really pretty pink
cusion flowers & thick felty leaves with a pleasant mix of silver & green. It tangles
well with Phacelia, iris & Monardella.
California poppy Papaveraceae
Eschscholzia californica
A vigorous weed. Alive with bees midday.
Creamy Marblewing Pieridae
Euchloe ausonides
Found one sleeping in the afternoon sun on a Dichelostemma blossom. The first Spring
Azure of the season (Celastrina) slep 8" away on a Soap Plant bud. June 1, 2000. We
don't have that many butterflies, being on a North slope so anything is exciting. We get
Skippers, Ladys, Cabbage Whites & an occsional Anise Swallowtail passes thru
which the cat usually eats right away.
California Fescue Poaceae
Festuca californica
Divisions from Marin. Older plants with some room make a spectacular fountain with
tall lanky flowers.
Red Fescue Poaceae
Festuca rubra
In the over rich, recently ivy infested cypress duff soil in my yard idahoensis
http://biodiversity.uno.edu/delta/festuca/www/descr013.htm
grew & re-seeded but grew rank, putting too much energy into blooming & died.
Vulpia myuros, rattail fescue, non-native annual weed
Fennel (Weed) Apiaceae
Foeniculum vulgare
Uphill neighbor has it & the stuff sure makes a lot of seed!
<nevermind, they bulldozed it 7-2000>
Checker Lily Liliaceae
Fritillaria lanceolata
Grew some seed from Big Sur… very slow.
Bedstraw Rubiaceae
Galium aparine
A pleasant weed in shady fertile places. Sometimes needs to be thinned.
Salal Ericaeae
Gaultheria shallon
Did not survive, but I'd like to try again near the Huckleberries, Azaleas & Yerba
Buena.
Branded Skipper Hesperiidae
Hesperia comma
Common. The skippers are abundant this year. I've got a few Fescues but not enough to
support a big population of caterpillars? I've seen them laying eggs on the Yellow-eyed
Grass. Mine looks more or less like this picture from the UK:
http://www.captain.ndirect.co.uk/regions/uktop/ukless/ukl7.htm
Toyon, Christmasberry Rosaceae
Heteromeles arbutifolia
We've got one existing that was cut down to an 18" stump which is resprouting. There
is a fine twisted old specimen outside the window that stretches out over the slope. I'm
gradually thining out the cottoneaster to favor the Toyons. I've also transplanted the
small seedlings that appear in bare sunny soil.
Ocean Spray Rosaceae
Holodiscus discolor
From a CNPS sale. Slow to establish but doing well.
California Horkelia Rosaceae
Horkelia californica
A single plant in one of the sunniest spots I have. I've divided small shoots sucessfully
to expand it.
PAUL'S GARDEN
http://www.edgehill.net/19thst.jpg
http://www.edgehill.net/garden.htm
Douglas Iris Iridaceae
Iris douglasii
We've got whole lot of mixed Iris douglasii Pacific Coast Hybrids. Each is different.
It's a great plant that has been very satisfying to grow. They all grow with long leaves
on a steep North slope in mixed shade. Their seeds are out on the ends of 12" stems...
Many of the seeds get moldy anyways. I've seen hummingbirds visit them and bumble
bees wiggling to get down to the pollen. In some gardens they don't get pollinated at
all.
Humbolt Lily Liliaceae
Lilium humboltii
We have two species.
Deerbroom Fabaceae
Lotus scoparius
From seed collected in a gravel parking lot in Pescadero Marsh. Common, I'm not sure,
some exotic Lotus is similar
Yellow Bush Lupine Fabaceae
Lupinus arboreus
Came up from seed we spread.
Leafcutter Bees Apioidea Superfamily
Megachile
They chomped pretty heavily on the Brown Dogwood & Redbud which both have
dense smooth shiny leaves.
Miniature Butterflies Hesperiidae
Microlepidoptera
When resting on a Yerba Buena leaf, it quivered it's antenae
continuously. Another time I didn't see this behavior. The
wings were spread in a triangular form about the size of the
leaf (3/4 inch). orange-rusty-burgundy with markings along the wing edges & looked
maybe like a Skipper. They are abundant this year though I never noticed them before.
The following is an interesting short paper about Microlepidoptera from the UC
Hastings preserve in Carmel. They have quite a few interesting pages. They call them
"moths" but I've seen pretty one's during the day too. I have no idea how to go about
identifying the one I've found.
http://www.hastingsreserve.org/Invertebrates/Insects/MicrolepsHst.html
Sticky Monkey Flower Schrophulariaceae
Mimulus aurantiacus
Not too succesful in our shady yard.
Scarlet Monkeyflower Schrophulariaceae
Mimulus cardinalis
Seep Spring Monkeyflower Schrophulariaceae
Mimulus guttanus
Bumble bees visit every morning
Pacific Waxmyrtle Myricaceae
Myrica californica
We use it as a hedge along the fenceline but fear it cannot be kept short.
Purple Needle Grass Poaceae
Nassella pulchra
I planted maybe a hundred Nassella lepida, Foothill Needlegrass grown easily from
seed in deep 2" pots & they did well. In five years, they have thinned themselves out to
well spaced clumps on the steep dry ground.
Redwood Sorrel Oxalidaceae
Oxalis oregana
Easy.
Anise swallowtail Papilionidae
Papilo zelicaon
Cat eats 'em.
Western Coltsfoot Asteraceae
Petasites palmatus
Too fast spreading & large… kind of a nuisance for a small garden. Readily available
because it's easily propagated from the roots. Might be good under Eucalyptus or
Pines.
Scorpion Flower Hydrophyllaceae
Phacelia californica
An easy plant, love the leaf & flower. Weedy looking later in season.
Mock Orange Philadelphaceae
Philadelphus lewisii
The sweet fragrance brings back pleasant childhood memories from Chicago. This
species is native to California's northern mountainous regions & further north.
Goldenback Fern Pteridophyta (Division)
Pitriograma triangularis
A few rescued from a construction site nearby.
California Polypody Pteridophyta (Division)
Polypodium californicum
One existing in a crack in the 1880's concrete stairs. Many planted.
Sticky Cinquefoil Rosaceae
Potentilla glandulosa
Actually quite a vigorous plant.
Holly-leafed California Cherry Rosaceae
Prunus ilicifolia
A few 2" pots from the SF CNPS sale, spring 2000.
Coast Live Oak Fagaceae
Quercus agrifolia
Several appeared. Apparently planted by Bluejays in the bare soil I'm replanting.
California Buttercup Ranunculaceae
Ranunculus californica
I rescued some from a construction site down the street & didn't see it for two years
from a transplant & a few scattered seeds but now it's spreading nicely.
Coffeberry Rhamnaceae
Rhamnus californica
2" pots planted spring 2000 from SF CNPS
Western azalea Ericaeae
Rhododendron occidentale
Several CNPS sale plants from Mount Tamalpais & further north. I want to also get a
Rose-bay (Rhododendron macrophyllum), an evergreen native Rhododendron.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=9831&one=T
Pink Flowering Currant Grossulariaceae
Ribes sanguinium
A thorny Gooseberry from Woods in Tiburon with loveley fall color.
Golden Currant (R. aureum) from an East Bay CNPS sale.
Thimbleberry Rosaceae
Rubus parviflorus
From cuttings.
Yerba Buena Lamiaceae
Satureja douglasii
A major part of our garden.
Savory Lamiaceae
Satureja mimuloides
From a CNPS sale. Native to the Central Coast Ranges in Chaparral, Douglas-Fir
Forest.
Coast Redwood Gymnosperms
Sequioia sempervirens
The Freinds of the Urban Forest in San Francisco gave me a sensible reason why they
don't recommend redwoods as street trees in the sidewalk: because the trunk will
become LARGER than the 15-foot-wide sidewalk eventually! Uh… I planted them
anyways.
Indian Pink Caryophyllaceae
Silene californica
I want it but probably the snails would eat it & I'm afraid we don't have enough sun.
Blue-eyed Grass Iridaceae
Sisyrinchuim bellum
Grew some from San Rafael
Yellow-eyed Grass Iridaceae
Sisyrinchuim californicum
I saw Skipper butterflies laying eggs on it. Seed from a swale in a Sonoma County
coastal bluff.
Slim Solomon's Seal Liliaceae
Smilacina stellata
Many from CNPS sales & by root division. Both species.
Snowberry Caprifoliaceae
Symphorocarpus albus
I agree that mollis is a weedy species. The albus we have attracts wasps (yellow
jackets) to drink nectar. It's OK they don't bother me.
Giant Wake Robin Liliaceae
Trillium chloropetalum
From a CNPS sale. I'm also growing some from seed from Big Basin. Four years old &
only one has made a compound leaf yet.
Evergreen Huckleberry Ericaeae
Vaccinium ovatum
They are not really thriving in our clay but are surviving OK & hopefully will be grand
some day.
Lady Nymphalidae
Vanessa
West Coast Lady (V. annabella) We have weedy tree mallows & now Checkerbloom
(Sidalcea).
Red Admiral Nymphalidae
Vanessa atalanta
Common, Pellitory is a common sidewallk weed. There is another exotic nettle & I'm
growing Stinging Nettle.
Violet Violaceae
Viola species
V. adunca, Dog Violet -blue flower in shade
Wild Grape Rosaceae
Vitis californica
cultivar "Roger's Red"
A neighbor left a note in our mailbox, asking "what's the beautiful red & green vine on
your front fence?"
RatTail Fescue (Weed) Poaceae
Vulpia myuros
-the horrible weed that's taking over my yard.
http://www.edgehill.net/plants/grassA.htm
Joshua Fodor: ...a non-native Vulpia (annual fescue) probably Vulpia myuros (rat tail
fescue).
Scott Stewart: ...seems to be Festuca megalura or Vulpia myuros.
What I have tried so far is to just pull it up, although it removes much of the topsoil.
There's no other way to get it clean, if I mow there is still a dense thatch left and
enough seeds sneak out to totally re-infest the area again. I'll see how other grasses
compete with it & plant more of them, that's the only option in a larger area, to handle
it as a gradual management plan. On one side of the garden I pulled a million tiny
seedlings all winter & spring & seem to have cured the problem. I'll try mulching as an
experiment also. It doesn't help to mow these in our garden. I cut some of it out with
clippers & it came back dense with lots of small seeds at a much shorter level. I'm
going to try & plant annuals this year to out compete them in the bare soil.
I've been pulling annual grasses in wild areas too. Sometimes it is hopeless but in
many areas, the annual grasses *can* be removed and this will cause huge
improvements in the health of the native plants. If you can't remove the annual grasses,
it's hopeless to restore anything but trees & shrubs to the area, I think. Even incremental
'grazing out' partially by hand of the annuals seems to have a significant impact over
the years as long as there are some natives remaining. In a garden, you will want to
completely remove these grasses & need to plant something to fill the space. If pulled
up early enough, the seeds are not fertile & will dry up or rot in a compost pile.
Modesty Philadelphaceae
Whipplea modesta
A fine companion or substitute for Yerba Buena (Satureja).
Giant Chainfern Pteridophyta (Division)
Woodwardia fimbriata