SPECIES LIST
Paul Furman
Important: right click over links to open in a new window to avoid reloading this page.
Introduction
This is my electronic notebook where I can store things as I learn them, I'd be happy if
others could make use of it too. I wouldn't consider this a definitive species list, more like
an interesting reference. I'm always adding & correcting. Latin names are generally as
shown in the Jepson manual although to keep the title short, I only mention
subspecies/varieties in the body of each listing. In some cases the title only includes the
genus. I've shown what is my best guess for what the species I see but I don't have much in
the way of technical keying skills... so again, don't take this as a authoritative list.
We begin with a listing of the places where I'm collecting information: (links are to
limited site specific plant lists ordered by species)
EDGEHILL MOUNTAIN
San Francisco, California
An overgrown hillside facing the ocean fogs. Dearly beloved by the neighbors. I like
it because there is great potential & there is no better use for such steep scenic land
than as a wild native garden.
Abbreviations
SFNAP refers to the San Francisco Natural Areas Program of the Recreation &
Park Department (R&P). LCR Nursery refers to Log Cabin Ranch/San Francisco
League of Urban Gardeners, who grew most of the introductions from local stock.
CNPS refers to the California Native Plant Society, Yerba Buena Chapter.
Edgehill existing
http://www.edgehill.net/existing.htm
Edgehill introduced
http://www.edgehill.net/introduced.htm
Edgehill proposed
http://www.edgehill.net/proposed.htm
PAUL'S GARDEN
http://www.edgehill.net/19thst.jpg
My wife & I cleared the Ivy & Monterey Pines in 1995... A steep 25'x 100' lot in San
Francisco with an 1880's shack on it we call home. with a decent sized front yard &
back yard & a double lot next door where the neighbor allows me to garden in back. It
is a north facing slope so we get some sun in the summer but not much in the winter.
Paul's garden
http://www.edgehill.net/garden.htm
POPE VALLEY
see the link above
Pope Valley
http://www.edgehill.net/pope.htm
(short list)
http://www.edgehill.net/Pope/plants/species.htm
(full descriptions)
RODEO TRAIL, MARIN HEADLANDS
Where I spend my afternoons hiking & weeding.
Rodeo
http://www.edgehill.net/rodeo.htm
SAN RAFAEL HILL
http://www.edgehill.net/SanRafael
-where I spend my lunch breaks hiking
San Rafael Hill
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CalFlora
I've included links to many photos in the Berkeley Digital Library which I
accessed through CalFlora. I'm tending to copy the spelling directly from this list
since it seems very carefully assembled & accurate. It contains a vast wealth of
useful information and is easily searched & browsed.
California Natives listserve
CA-NATIVES
-Many of the entries here are quotes from this email discussion group. Thanks to
everyone there for your insightful comments. Subscription instructions at:
http://www.calypteanna.com/ca-natives.htm
Callizo
AN ON-LINE FLORA OF NAPA COUNTY
http://www.puc.edu/Faculty/Gilbert_Muth/napa.htm
-Just beginning to come on-line in the spring of 2000, this is a joint effort of Joe
Callizo, Jake Ruygt, and Gilbert Muth, who have been collecting data for it for
about 30 years. Data is being entered by students gradually.
Clarke
EDIBLE & USEFUL PLANTS OF CALIFORNIA, Charlotte Bringle Clarke, UC
Press 1977
-I was impressed with this book when I first tried boiled Stinging Nettle leaves
(like sweet delicious Spinach). Includes everything from seaweed to garden
weeds.
CNPS
RARE LILIES OF CALIFORNIA
-A beautiful collection of colored drawings.
Crampton
GRASSES IN CALIFORNIA, Beecher Crampton, UC Press 1974
-A condensed field guide of the more conspicuous grasses. A nice introduction
about the once glorious grasslands of California & basic terms & structure for
identifying with keys (the individual descriptions are geared more for cattlemen).
Faber
CALIFORNIA'S WILD GARDENS, Phyllis M. Faber, CNPS 1997
-An exquisite coffee-table book.
Hitchcock
MANUAL OF THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES, Dover
Publications, Albert Spear Hitchcock, 1935; Agnes Chase revised it as a USDA
Miscellaneous Publication in 1950. Sold in two pieces (volumes) be sure to
order both if buying on-line.
Jeff Caldwell: a major, almost indispensible grass reference. Has descriptions
and drawings of almost every species, lots of synonyms, and maps.
Curtis Clark: there are two things to watch out for:
1. Concepts of grass genera have changed greatly in some groups (and not at all
in others) since it was published, so that many of the names will be in the Jepson
Manual only in the index or list of synonyms.
2. The higher-level classification of grasses (subfamilies, tribes) has totally
changed. This is less important if you are using Hitchcock mainly for i.d.
Howell
A FLORA OF SAN FRANCISCO, Howell, Raven, Rubtzof, CNPS 1958
-Useful list that gives places where each species has been found.
Howell
MARIN FLORA, John Thomas Howell, UC Press 1949 with 1996
cross-reference to Jepson Manual
-There are nice descriptions of the conditions that the plants are found in,
occasional but useful anecdotal descriptions & listings of places where each
species can be found.
Jeffrey Caldwell
CALIFORNIA GARDEN HABITAT NETWORK
Jeffrey Caldwell, Andreas Reiman
http://www.edgehill.net/cghn/proposal.htm
Thanks for your encouragement, numerous corrections and advice on layout &
organization. And.. contributing articles on this list.
Jepson
THE JEPSON MANUAL , UC Press 1993
-The current definitive list, 1,400 pages with (some) line drawings.
Keator
PACIFIC COAST FERN FINDER
Glenn Keator & Ruth M. Heady
Nature Study Guild
box 10489 Rochester NY 14610
-it's a tiny pocket guide with commonsense keys fully illustrated with
drawings... works well... can be found in park gift shops…
Keator
COMPLETE GARDEN GUIDE TO THE NATIVE PERENNIALS OF
CALIFORNIA and COMPLETE GARDEN GUIDE TO THE NATIVE SHRUBS
OF CALIFORNIA, Glenn Keator 1990
-Indispensible resources for the growth habits & garden needs of our native flora.
Kozloff
PLANTS OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY REGION, Mendocino to Monterey,
Kozloff,Beidleman 1994
-Excellent collection of small pictures for identification & very long list of
species with technical details & endless keys.
Las Pilitas Nursery
http://www.laspilitas.com/index.htm
Bert Wilson. Loaded with good plant descriptions, some of which I copied when
beginning this list. Also a great series of in depth lectures on michorrizae,
communities & more.
Link
LANDSCAPING FOR WILDLIFE in the Pacific Northwest, Russel Link, 1999
A thorough introduction to attracting & appreciating native wildlife in your
garden. Written for Oregon to BC but the best thing available for California.
Louise Lacey
GROWING NATIVE
Louise Lacey
-I continually think back to anecdotes from this informative newsletter while
studying plants. Interviews with all sorts of experienced folks.
Lyon
100 NAPA COUNTY ROADSIDE WILDFLOWERS, Richards Lyon, Jake
Ruygut, Stonecrest Press, Napa 1996
-Useful local reference with a color plate for each entry.
Lyons
PLANTS OF THE COAST REDWOOD REGION, Kathleen Lyons, May Beth
Cooney-Lazaneo, photos by Howard King, Looking Press 1988
-One of my favorite short illustrated books with commonsense descriptions. An
exceptional beginners book… includes more than just forest species.
Matthews
THE FLOWERING PLANTS OF MONTEREY COUNTY, Mary Ann Matthews,
CNPS 1997
-Hundreds of line drawings with technical descriptions.
McClintock
A FLORA OF THE SAN BRUNO MOUNTAINS, Elizabeth McClintock, Paul
Reeberg, Walter Knight, CNPS 1990
-The perfect mix of commonsense descriptions & scientific thoroughness.
Parsons
THE WILDFLOWERS OF CALIFORNIA, Mary Elizabeth Parsons, illustrations
by Margret Warriner Buck, California Academy of Sciences, 1897
A classic work, the writing is a bit flowery but full of interesting non-technical
(and technical) descriptions. Out of print but copies can be found for a
reasonable price. Wonderful line drawings. Also includes complete descriptions
& keys for the orders & families, & everything you need to learn botany in detail.
Not a complete flora but very indepth.
Powell
CALIFORNIA INSECTS, Jerry A. Powell, Charles L. Hogue, UC Berkeley
Press 1989
-With 1 million species of insects described in the world (3
to 30 million remaining to be discovered) and 30,000 species
described in California (with new discoveries still common),
this field guide can't get into many details but it's a good
overview & does have easy to read descriptions & fascinating
details for selected species. The orders & Families are all
clearly described so that the structural & behavioral
differences are apparent between major groups & every type
described has a drawing or photograph. And of course it is
loaded with references to plants, since plants are the
foundation for most insects habitats.
Pyle
NORTH AMERICAN BUTTERFLIES National Audubon Society Field Guide,
Pyle, Knopf 1981
-Nice organization & photograph key makes it easy to use & I can almost always
find something real close to what I'm looking for… very thorough.
Robbins
BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA -a Guide to Field Identification , Chandler S
Robbins, Bertel Bruun, Herbert S. Zim, Golden Press 1983
- I paraphrased from this fine reference for the Edgehill bird list. I don't know
birds well so I needed some help to learn them.
Sharsmith
FLORA OF THE MOUNT HAMILTON RANGE, Helen K. Sharsmith, CNPS
1982
-A nicely assembled local flora.
http://www.edgehill.net/hamilton.htm
Stewart
COMMON BUTTERFLIES OF CALIFORNIA, Bob Stewart, West Coast Lady
Press, 1997
-Big pretty pictures on every page & a good summary of common species but not
complete enough for identifying oddball finds.
Thomas
FLORA OF THE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS OF CALIFORNIA, John Hunter
Thomas, 1961 Stanford Press.
-Good habitat descriptions for every species.
HOW TO USE THIS SITE
For alternate layouts of the database see http://www.edgehill.net/species/
To find cross references or anything in the long list, simply search the page with your
web browser; pull down "Edit" and select "Find in page".
You can also pull down "File" and select "Save as" to store the long list as html on
your desktop for reference if the loading is slow.
I don't recommend printing because it's always being updated (and I've got a little bug
that makes too many page breaks). Let me know if you'd like a formatted text version
that can be printed, etc. I'm glad to share.
The information is stored in an MS Access database & then exported to web format. I'd
like to make it more interactive so I can edit & filter records over the web but for now
I just publish the revisions every so often.
And, now for the species list:--------------------
PLANTS
MAPLE FAMILY
Aceraceae
Vine Maple
Acer circinatum
Much like Japanese Maple, with small wide leaves & better fall color & drought
tolerance for California. It sometimes lays down & grows somewhat vinelike in dark
forests but usually not. From north woods. Hand select specimens for best fall color.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=4390&one=T
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/acecir/
Paul's garden
Big Leaf Maple
Acer macrophyllum
A large tree from north woods, riparian valley habitat & coastal places. The flowers &
seeds are a boon for wildlife & the leaves add abundant mulch to the soil. Pleasant
yellow fall color. Not the most elegant form to the trunks but wonderful foliage masses.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=11851&one=T
Paul's garden
In the sidewalk against the base of our retaining wall. It's been broken off many
times & looks better every year.
WATER PLANTAIN FAMILY
Alismataceae
Broad-leaf Arrow-head
Sagittaria latifolia
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/othrdata/westflor/species/4/sagilati.htm
Napa
CASHEW FAMILY
Anacardiaceae
Includes Poison Oak, the Sumacs (Rhus) & California Pepper Tree (Shinus) a non native
which was planted on the missions hundreds of years ago.
Poison oak
Toxicodendron diversilobum
Birds enjoy the fruit. The best treatment is washing thoroughly after hiking. Nothing
helps the rash although if it's real bad very hot water will make it calm down enough to
let you get to sleep. Common on Montara Mountain
http://www.plants.montara.com/ListPages/FamPages/Apia1.html#anghen
http://www.edgehill.net/parsons/toxicodendron.htm f
Edgehill existing
Rare.
Rodeo
Vast masses with Coyote Bush. Everywhere.
San Rafael Hill
Common
CARROT OR PARSLEY FAMILY
Apiaceae
Umbelliferae. Characterized by umbel (flat topped) flower. Some are edible & some are
deadly poisonous. I assume the latin Apiaceae name refers to the usefulness of these
flowers to bees.
Angelica
Angelica Hendersonii
Big bold Umbel. Similar to Heraculeum but a little smaller & neater leaf. Preferred
larval host plant over the weedy dill & over Lomatium by Anise Swallowtail
butterflies. C ommon on Montara Mountian:
http://www.plants.montara.com/ListPages/FamPages/Apia1.html#anghen
Daniel Segal
native angelicas are easy to germinate. They can be potted up into any pre-gallon
size with 2-4 true leaves and will be ready for gallons or careful planting in 1-3
months after that depending on the time of year you are handling them. They grow
vigorously in spring and summer. Once in gallons, the can lose lower leaves as
they grow new upper ones, a replacement phenomenon I've seen chronically with
Heracleum also in gallons. But when planted in the ground they grow
vigourously. Angelica tomentosa has the ability to flower in its second year from
seed, and I suspect the same of other native angelicas. Another exciting feature
of Angelica tomentosa (& A. californica) is that they fall into the "giant herb"
group--a small elite which includes Aralia, Helianthus californicus, Hoita
macrostachya, etc.--herbaceous plants, or at least woodless, that can reach 6-8
feet each growing season before dying back to the ground each winter.
Dan Segal
North Coast Native Nursery, Petaluma
Edgehill introduced
(6)1 gal. pots planted on 12-1999 from LCR Nursery
(2) 1 gal. pots planted on 2-2000 from CNPS/LCR Nursery
Jeff Caldwell
The few Angelicas I've seen were in an isolated ravine near a small brook.
There were also Van Houtte's columbines there. In pre-European contact times
they were no doubt much more common, though I don't suppose they grew in great
masses.
Considering their structure, which would provide good cover for caterpillars --
and the fact that at least one species of the genus is safely edible even for humans
-- and thus lacking in the toxics that some umbellifers seem to have -- I can well
imagine that angelicas may be a near ideal food plant for the anise swallowtail.
Their somewhat scattered distribution in the landscape would also, I think, favor
survival of the caterpilllars. The plants are said to be pleasantly fragrant, which,
I'd like to think, would be beckoning to the swallowtails.
Angelicas are handsome plants and I don't suppose they are the least bit invasive.
They are, I think, quite garden worthy, more so than most of our native
umbellifers; worth growing even if not a butterfly larval host! I remember that
the few I saw were well attended by insect visitors to the flowers. They have the
potential of being among the very best of plants for butterfly gardens, as larval
host, nectar source and as attractive specimens for the garden!
I see that a few species are recommended for horticulture in the Jepson Manual,
and, encouragingly, only Angelica tomentosa is indicated as "difficult". Can
anyone tell us anything about propagating or growing them? Or share any field
observations about the conditions they are found growing in? Angelica
archangelica, a large biennial, is grown as an edible herb [used to flavor wines
or to make candied stems] and is not a weed to my knowledge. I see that there is
a treatment of four species in Glenn Keator's Complete Garden Guide to the
Native Perenials of California. They like very good drainage and some
moisture, which is the sort of conditions some of the best of perennials require.
Nancy Kissam
...I've had Anise Swallowtails (whose native larval food was native Angelicas
& other umbellifers before they [wisely] switched to the much more common
introduced fennel, & which they prefer still, if given a taste choice!) They find
potted native Angelica brewerii behind the house in a small, narrow alley in an
area in which I strongly doubt there is any other native, or even European. They
prefer this Angelica to fennel by miles!!
unknown umbellifer
Apiaceae Family
A small attractive herb, white flower 8" high. Delicate & light. Possibly an annual?
Pope Valley
Common in nice areas.
Fennel (Weed)
Foeniculum vulgare
Some people call it Dill.
Growing Native
Cows eat fennel, so you see it become a problem when grazing is stopped. Mark
Stomberg.
Jeff Caldwell
This is a slightly edited version of a letter from Barabara Deutsch
about fennel control in San Francisco. Fennel appears to be the prime host plant
for the anise swallowtail, a native species so thoroughly adapted to the
introduced Foeniculum vulgare that it's common name, "Anise Swallowtail",
reflects that fact. Eradicating the fennel inevitably hurts populations of anise
swallowtail and other insects that are currently making use of it:
I'm sorry to hear [about a] continuing to make war on fennel. [edited
by request] considered these attacks unsound. I wish all involved would try to
intelligently re-assess what plant communities and wildlife it's possible to keep
among us, and how best to go about doing this.
A tendency to concentrate on rare plants impedes comprehension of the fact that
common, abundant plants support most insect species, including specialist
species. Because fennel is common, abundant, chemically compatible, and offers
useful resources, it tends to support an array of insects (including pollinators,
several species of lepidoptera, and their predators and parasites).
Where fennel is ample and undisturbed enough to provide these resources in
relative peace and quiet, it also supports many birds who use it for roosts, nest
sites, and as a much-relied upon source of food, including flowers, insects, and
seed. Other species use fennel as a refuge also.
Where marshes once separated the Mission district from both Potrero Hill and
the city of San Francisco, convergent ladybird beetles swarmed in stands of
fennel, using it as retreat from extremes of weather, as nursery, and as aphid
larder for adults and young. The places where this phenomenon occurred have
been bulldozed, paved, and built, except for one, which was obliterated this
spring (as was the willow native to the site) to "prepare" it for a community
garden.
Butterflies disappear when ecological conditions worsen and, in San Francisco,
attacks on adventitious plants have added to their difficulties. Ten years ago, such
plants supported eight species of butterflies throughout the city. Only certain
stands of fennel host Anise Swallowtail caterpillars successfully, and geology
and hydrology are critical factors in this success. One clump of fennel at SF
General Hospital supported as many as 16 final-instar caterpillars at one time (a
most extraordinary occurrence). It and all the rest of the fennel thereabouts was
poisoned and extirpated during "improvements" of the area: replacement of
natural growth with more pavement (this, after a parking garage had been
installed across the street), close-mown lawn, and narrow strips and squares
where shrubs and trees are kept in a state of arrested development, and bedding
plants, brought into artificially flamboyant bloom, are temporarily displayed,
then discarded and replaced. These are all environmentally costly practices.
Another stand of fennel where caterpillars were numerous, along San Jose
Avenue, was poisoned or cut down, or both, for no apparent reason, in an all too
frequent pattern of periodic abuse of "unauthorized" plant life. Plants in proximity
to the bay are especially likely to be visited by butterflies, and to support their
caterpillars. Such places are now routinely poisoned and reduced to stubble by
public agencies, perhaps encouraged by the native plant society's bias against
some plants as pests.
In the minds of those to whom fennel is an aggressive enemy, actual
losses are more than balanced by hypothetical gains. Besides the problematic
nature of attacks on adventitious plants, where has there been any replacement of
the continuum of resources they provided? Where is the corridor dominated by
willow that should line the bay and mark former marshlands? Where is the
corridor of baccharis, a species only recently common throughout the city, and its
associates? Where do plants, and the creatures who live intimately with them,
enjoy stretches of untrampled, unworked land, where air can carry without
obstruction the delicate chemical signals they transmit to each other?
Fennel is an easy target, but attacking it may exacerbate the problem of which it
is one (and perhaps one of the most benign) symptoms. With baccharis and
willow, fennel is capable of supporting many beautiful life forms still
widespread enough to re-establish almost anywhere, even among burgeoning
populations of opportunistic generalists such as ourselves. Were willows still
allowed to spread along low-lying areas, with a blue elderberry here and there,
with easily established nettles, aster, scrophularia, mugwort, and other
rhizomatous perennials, fennel among them
would offer what yampah used to provide.
If baccharis were at the sunny edges of boring municipal plantations of trees, it
could be easily augmented with liveoak, toyon, coffeeberry, blackberry, poison
oak, hollyleaf cherry, ceanothus (perhaps the extirpated Ceanothus incanus),
monkeyflower, and other compatible plants and provide
structure as well as the mid-canopy so critical to songbird nesting success, both
now largely absent from our parks. Were fennel among them, it would not harm
but assist diversity.
Instead, where one can still see any distance at all, no continuum
exists except us in our ubiquitous cars and trucks, plenty (but never enough)
places for us to park them, and outdoor decor: strips of ecologically brain-dead
lawn, inserts of ivy, palms and/or street trees, and those garish "colour spots"
that Alan calls "gardening graffiti." This is a situation that imperils us as much as
any species, as Peter Steinhart has conveyed to us eloquently. As he said,
repercussions from accelerating changes in species composition are taking place
rapidly at the micro-organic level, altering to our detriment the denser and
denser, deteriorating places we call home.
Given all the grasses we no longer war against, the filaree and other
enormously influential little co-colonisers we hardly notice; given the
strange willingness to watch echium spread; given our ineffectual
efforts against broom, and our defeat by proliferating banners of pampas grass;
and given the quickened northward pace of telegraph weed and many other
immigrants, why are the gunsights turned on fennel?
[She has a good point here: we go after fennel because it is easy to
eradicate, while leaving more difficult to eradicate species that are
probably usurping more potential resources of native plants, and less
valuable to wildlife than fennel, alone; such as some of the annual
grasses. As an animal lover she is looking at habitat pragmatically;
fennel is not native, but it is being used by some conspicuous species as a
significant resource. She feels a sense of loss when attempts to "improve" areas
result in its destruction, with effects to the wildlife making use of it.]
I hope someone is seeing songbirds and butterflies; I am not.
Best wishes to them and us,
Barbara
Barbara Deutsch
1919 19th Street
San Francisco 94107
ph 415 641-7538
facs 550-1470
e-mail undone@sirius.com
Paul's garden
Uphill neighbor has it & the stuff sure makes a lot of seed!
<nevermind, they bulldozed it 7-2000>
Rodeo
Along roads mostly.
San Rafael Hill
One sepentine area where people dump their yard waste with a big stand of it.
Cow Parsnip
Heracleum lantanum
Named after Hercules for it's boldness in leaf. Pungent when brushed against. Huge flat
topped flowers (umbels) are easy feeding grounds for insects & produce vast amounts
of seed. Dies back each year after blooming. Supposed to be easy to grow from seed.
http://www.plants.montara.com/ListPages/FamPages/Apia2.html#herlan
Edgehill proposed
Seeds collected from Twin Peaks Fall 1999
Rodeo
Common.
Spring Gold
Lomatium utriculatum
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/6121_1611/3984/0079.jpeg
Common Lomatium, Hog Fennel. Small Umbel, tap root. Seems a confusing group of
similar plants. Some are called Biscuitroot. I like them, the seeds are interesting.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/8076_3101/3987/0053.jpeg
Edgehill introduced
Lomatium utriculatum (4) 4" pots planted on 2-2000 from CNPS
Novato
Lomatium, Wild Fennel
-thick leafed yellow flowered one
-and fine leafed one with white flowers Lomatium dasycarpum, Woollyfruit
Desertparsley ?
Pope Valley
Lomatium ciliolatum Jeps. var. hooveri Math. & Const.
A local endemic. Not sure if this is the one that is common there.
San Rafael Hill
Common on dry rocky slopes.
Kellogg's Yampah
Perideridia kelloggii
Edible root. Dry sunny places.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=9659&one=T
Edgewood County Park
Under assault by the invasive weed Bristly Ox-tongue (Picris echioides).
To replace fennel with natives with the same value for the anise
swallowtail, one of the prettiest urban butterflies, is difficult at present. I have
given the matter some thought and study. I did determine [and was the first I
knew of to do so!] that Perideridia kelloggii [Kellogg's yampah] is also used by
the " anise" swallowtail a fair amount. This native umbellifer was no doubt
once far more common than it is now. There is a very large mass of it at
Edgewood County Park in San Mateo County
Pope Valley
Supposed to be very common in Napa County. There is an Umbellifer which is
taller and coarser than Lomatium with leaflets that are almost swordlike. I didn't
see it bloom.
Pacific Snake Root
Sanicula crassicaulis
Gamble Weed. Common shade loving herb with waxy maple leaf. The seed is a
cockleburr.
Edgehill existing
Common.
Jeff Caldwell
Not particularly useful to insects compared to other Apiacea but reseeds easily
on bare ground & certainly better than ivy.
San Rafael Hill
In woods.
ARISTOLCHIA FAMILY
Aristolchiaceae
California Pipevine
Aristolochia californica
California's host to the Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly.
The vines get carpeted in "flowers" before the leaves emerge if given sun & rich soil,
easy to grow. Can be propagated easily by cuttings (or by seed). It is typical in
woodlands or brush in many places in Northern California.
http://hua.huh.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/Flora/taxon_desc.pl?FLORA_ID=12395&TAXON_ID=102606
http://hua.huh.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/Flora/taxon_desc.pl?FLORA_ID=12395&TAXON_ID=233500156
Edgehill proposed
Only a few small populations in San Francisco. We're on the waiting list to get
some. I'm propagating tons of it from an unknown source in my garden, I wonder
how variable it is genetically?
Jeff Caldwell
Although it is true that it would require many pipevines to guarantee the long term
survival of a pipevine swallowtail population, especially an isolated one, it is
also true, I think, that one could get lucky and have pipevine swallowtails in
some if not many years with a considerably lesser planting of the pipevine. The
pipevine swallowtail is a strong flier, roams more than many species. I think
having a significant planting of its favorite nectar plants would also increase the
odds in your favor of having it around. Ideally there would be pipevines and
appropriate nectar sources all over the neighborhood(s) round about. They say
in the East the eastern pipevine swallowtail expanded its range 1000 miles to the
west, following the cultivated pipevines.
Since many caterpillars are parasitized by wasps (who lay their eggs on them)
and thus die (slowly being eaten alive from the inside by wasp larvae) before
turning into butterflies, the best way is probably to move the eggs, which are less
frequently attacked. An analogy is moving plants; seeds are the "cleanest" way,
the best way to leave behind pests and diseases. Second best method for moving
lepidoptera to a new site is to move the smallest caterpillars you can find, or the
pupal stage. However, perhaps pipevine swallowtails are attacked less often
than some species; I saw them at high concentrations at the San Francisco site
and in Louise's garden. They are quite conspicuous, black and orange, I suppose
poisonous from eating the pipevine!
Paul's garden
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… It makes a seed pod that looks like a small gourd. I watched it all summer
then it dropped all it's seeds while I wasn't watching.
San Rafael Hill
On San Rafael Hill, it grows on the rocky banks of a tiny creek, in the creek and
up in the dry areas nearby too, as a ground cover & I've only seen one flower
there.
MILKWEED FAMILY
Asclepiaceae
Unique food for the Monarch butterlies' larvae. Poisonous.
Milkweed
Asclepias
http://www.calacademy.org/research/botany/wildflow/names/203181.htm
California Natives listserve
> >anni jensen asked:
> >
> >We are growing several species of Asclepias at the nursery where I work,
and before we release them unto the public we would like to know more about
their potential invasiveness. Do any of you have personal experience with
Asclepias speciosa and Asclepias eriocarpa? It appears that A. speciosa
"spreads a bit at the root" and can be "somewhat invasive in a garden setting".
Does that mean that the plant will be acceptable in a garden if it does not receive
summer water? Thank you for any insight you can provide about this.
> >Anni Jensen
> >Annie's Annuals
Paul wrote:
I have little experience with these plants but I just did a
little research...
Asclepias speciosa, Showy Milkweed, (Greek Milkweed?) is
native to Northern California & much of the Western US &
Canada. I saw a small colony of what may be this species in
Eastern Napa County growing well above the bank of a tiny
creek with one of the plants under the roof of an old open
sided blacksmith shop where it gets no direct rain & that
one looked just as happy as it's neighbors in the open.
Perhaps it was connected by the
roots for moisture. This photo shows some of the fuzzyness
that was apparent in the budding specimens I saw:
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=14656&one=T
The next picture shows them at a more mature state (I guess)
with shiny smooth leaves:
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=4128&one=T
The stuff I saw was fantastically fuzzy in it's young
budding stage. I didn't see the flowers. The following are
two other possible species.
Asclepias eriocarpa, Kotolo, Indian Milkweed
http://www.butterflyfarm.com/images/A_eriocarpa_7.jpg
http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/99.htm
Greenish yellow flowers, very fuzzy leaves, large plant.
Asclepias californica, California Milkweed, a shorter plant.
http://www.butterflyfarm.com/images/A_californica_2.jpg
This is the Milkweed I have in my garden which is a very
different looking plant:
Asclepias fascicularis, Narrowleaf Milkweed
http://www.butterflyfarm.com/images/A_fascicularis_5.jpg
It is a neat satisfying plant to grow, I did not seen any seeds or spreading
roots for several years perhaps because
it's in the shade & the butterflies don't notice it there?
Daniel Segal
Anni,
The milkweeds suffer from their reputation "back east" as aggressively
invasive native "weeds". In particular this is a reference to A. syriaca,
which is a beautiful plant with fragrant flowers, at a distance not unlike
A. speciosa. In California there is really no analog in terms of
invasiveness, although at higher elevations over to the eastern Sierra and
into Nevada and parts of the Great Basin, A. speciosa does become a
conspicuous colonizer of roadside springs, irrigation ditches, etc.
Somewhere over the Rockies where the two species do meet, they have been
shown to hybridize, so their relationship might be pretty close. Or the
genus might just be one that exhibits fairly free hybridization between
species.
In the garden I have found A. speciosa to be somewhat invasive. But this
particular garden has delicious rich Sebastopol sandy loam, quite conducive
to the spread of milkweed rhizome. I love the shoots as they pop up from
within the canopy of shrubs and just not where they were planted in general,
but some people might not want that. In two years, the "patch" has tripled
in size and of course I expect its growth to increase exponentially.
Two other problems are aphids and overhead water. The aphids are part of
the whole allure of the milkweed, with its mystical butterfly association.
I have seen 4 species of bugs on A. fascicularis at one time, so it's not
just the butterfly that finds these plants. Most people who buy milkweed
are buying it for the butterfly and are thus less likely to worry about a
seasonal insect problem, but they can get pretty buggy.
I have also found that with summer water the leaves often turn mildewy, and
look an ugly rotten sort of gray. I assumed this was from some incidental
summer overhead watering, but I don't know for sure.
Most milkweeds also have fragrant flowers, and native peoples used the plant
variously--the coma (or fluff at the top of each seed) as a fire starter,
the plant's fibers for cordage and rope, and the latex for chewing gum,
which seems to contradict the dogma that these are toxic plants.
Dan Segal
North Coast Native Nursery, Petaluma
Other
Asclepias tuberosa is an ornamental exotic with showy bright orange flowers.
Eastern US?
Sean A. O'Hara
> Hi Anni -
>
> Asclepias speciosa was an important part of a friend's old garden,
> artistically integrated with other unusual native and non-native
> plants. It did spread by the roots but in a modest manner. My friend gave
> it a position that would tolerate it coming up randomly here and
> there. The white-felted leaves and interesting habit were welcome where
> ever they appeared. This species is not aggressive, nor does it self-seed
> voraciously. I've seen growing along alleyways and rail-road tracks in the
> central valley - always a pleasant surprise and the best looking thing in
> miserable surroundings. I would not call it invasive at all - merely
> saying it spreads modestly by runners would convey the appropriate
> information.
>
> Regards,
> Sean O.
COMPOSITE OR SUNFLOWER FAMILY
Asteraceae
(Compositae) Like Apiaceae, Composite flowers have many small flowers together which
makes easy feeding for butterflies who are not as agile as bees.
Common Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
Good butterfly nectar plant, easy to grow.
Edgehill introduced
(35) 4" pots planted on 12-1999 from LCR Nursery Pedro Point/Hawk Hill?
Seed from Twin Peaks Spread 12-1999
Blow-wives
Achyrachaena mollis
The flower is inconspicuous:
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=19758&one=T
The seeds are striking:
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=12857&one=T
Pope Valley
Occasional
Pearly Everlasting
Anaphalis margaritacea
Silvery fuzzy foliage, long summer bloom, flowers look like dry seed heads & remain
through the following spring, microlepidoptera host. Cudweed is similar but smaller.
One of the first colonizers at Mount Saint Helens after the blast growing from broken
stems & roots. I've not had such good luck from divisions. "Pearly and other
Everlastings: Gnaphalium, Antennaria, Anaphalis: sole larval hosts of the West
Virginia Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)."
http://theartdoc.com/CNPS/butterflies.html
Edgehill introduced
Seed from Twin Peaks spread 12-1999 -no results try again.
Paul's garden
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?
Rodeo
Saw an American Lady (Vanessa) larvae eating it.
Coastal Sagebrush
Artemisia californica
California Sagebrush. The soft wooded "scrub" which defines the Coastal Sage Scrub
community, the aromatic fine textured silver-grey leaves tolerate the west sun, constant
winds & dry rocky soils happily. Artemisia is a striking plant with very silver leaves
which tend to dry out leaving the plant sick & leggy if it doesn't get enough sun. I love
the smell. A. tridentata is the western sage brush that occurs from Nevada to Colorado,
it is similar.
Edgehill existing
At least one surviving shrub found on the very upper slopes with Phacelia
ramossisima & Blue Dicks
Edgehill introduced
(40) 2" pots planted on 12-1999 from LCR Nursery. Doing well where few
things are on Paul's Slope -very dry & rocky.
Edgehill proposed
Cuttings collected 4-2000, some successful.
Jeff Caldwell
Capable of growing under a wide variety of conditions including wetlands.
Las Pilitas Nursery
Evergray shrub, 4' high. Native to dry areas of western US. Likes full sun, little
or no water after est.. Although it doesn't seem to care if it has clay or sand but it
needs good drainage. Tea was used for fever, (you'd have to have a fever to drink
it) smoke of burning brush used for removing skunk odor (although I'm not sure
which is worse). Many if not all Artemisias have allelopathic effects.(Natural
weed control.)(Rice )Seeds germinate after wildfires, and burnt plants crown
sprout after fires. Great wildlife plant. Good plant for starting back a difficult
south facing coastal sage scrub site. It is amazing to find oaks regularly coming
up under this plant.
Paul's garden
The prostrate cultivar 'Canyon Grey' tangles it's self in a 'Snowball' Ceanothus,
managing to survive the winter shade.
San Rafael Hill
Grows with Chamise, Painbrush, Coyote Mint…
Mugwort
Artemisia douglasiana
Fragrant weedy herb from riverbanks & moist brushy places. Similar restoration value
with Scrophularia.
Edgehill proposed
Pope Valley
Along the creek.
Rodeo
Large patches in a couple areas.
Coastal Sagewort
Artemisia pycnocephala
Easy to grow in gardens & pretty but native to sand dunes, like Armeria.
Edgehill introduced
(15) 4" pots planted on 12-1999 from LCR Nursery/Rockaway Beach
Chilean Aster
Aster chilensis
Creeping Aster (I thought it was more upright?). Good late summer nectar for
butterflies. http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/5161_1631/2458/0048.jpeg
In spite of the South American name, CalFlora says this perennial only occurs in
California and a little bit in Oregon. Fluffy dandilion type seeds, simple plant with
open upright habit. Seems more like an annual. Can occur in wetlands
http://www.calacademy.org/research/botany/wildflow/names/203189.htm
Edgehill proposed
Seed from twin peaks spread but no results, try again from nursery grown stock.
Seed collected from Montara Mountain, August 2000
Napa
Coyote Bush
Bacharis pilularis
Good old dependable Coyote Bush, not too many things bloom for the insects in the
late summer & stay so green. Looks awful in late winter/early spring though.
Edgehill existing
Just a few plants remaining.
Jeff Caldwell
J.W. Tilden, a California butterfly expert, found hundreds of species of insects
associated with coyote brush, Baccharis pilularis.
Las Pilitas Nursery
Drought tolerant, very useful for hedges or fence lines, much underused. Water
1/week until est. then 1/month or so during the first summer. Very fast! It can
mature in one-two year. Another mini-wildlife plant! Secondary pioneer plant in
communities such as coastal sage scrub and chaparral. When the native
vegetation is removed from an area by bulldozer, or tilling, or grazing and
trampling animals, one of the first natives that returns to the site, is Mr. Or Mrs.
Coyote Brush, Baccharis pilularis consanguinea. By the way, the Jepson Manual,
the new definitive flora for the state of California, calls this plant just Baccharis
pilularis, the same name as the ground cover form. They are now considered the
same species, because the short and tall plants intergrade completely. The
problem for we horticulturists/biologists is that only male plants are utilized in
the landscaping trade for Baccharis pilularis. If these are substituted for B.
pilularis var. consanguinea in ecological restoration, there will not be as much
seed set and recruitment of new individuals. Luckily, almost everyone is ignoring
Jepson in this context.
Paul's garden
A few here & there.
Yellow Star Thistle (Weed)
Centaurea solstitialis
Can be out competed & doesn't move into the poorest soils. A relatively new
introduction to the state from the Mediterranean.
http://www.batnet.com/rwc-seed/starthistle.html
Peter J. Warner
Now estimated to affect 20 million acres in cismontane California, the most
widespread invasive plant
Pope Valley
Widespread problem -worst case is a 10 acre meadow filled with it
solid. They tilled & tilled & stopped all the sudden without doing anything about
it. Some people burn or mow to control it. Moves into bare soil between bunch
grasses & disturbed areas. -leaves the
ground devastated.
San Rafael Hill
Coming into one area along Quarry Road.
Native Thistles
Cirsium
Cirsium occidentale, Cobweb Thistle, Western Thistle
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=4786&one=T
Thistles are the prefered larval host for the Painted Lady (Vanessa carduii) and they
are excellent nectar for all butterflies.
Peter J. Warner
Cirsium andrewsii, Franciscan thistle, -rare, difficult to distinguish from C.
vulgare (bull thistle) and others
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=4022&one=T
[I suppose this is what I see on Twin Peaks]
Pope Valley
On a tall cliff of eroding soil above Pope Creek I saw a red robust slender red
thistle that looked rather like this picture of Cirsium occidentale var. occidentale,
Cobweb Thistle (from a distance)
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=3402&one=T
Rodeo
Cirsium quercitorum, Brownie Thistle
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=3828&one=T
(or maybey it's all the weedy one… opens up purple later on)
Seaside Daisy
Erigeron glaucus
A plump round leafed perennial Aster from beaches & bare rocky coastal places.
Edgehill introduced
(20) 4" pots planted on 12-1999 from LCR Nursery
(3) 4" pots planted on 2-2000 from CNPS/LCR Nursery
They don't seem to be doing well. Not enough time to get their roots deep & too
fluffy rich of a soil I'm guessing. They dry out & wilt quickly.
Paul's garden
One specimen struggling.
Lizard Tail
Eriophyllum
Woolly Sunflower, Seaside Golden Yarrow. Good butterfly nectar plants. Big bright
yellow flowers & silvery foliage.
Eriophyllum confertiflorum Fine textured needle type leaves.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/6043_1632/2626/0057.jpeg
Eriophyllum staechadifolium more coarse leaf
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/6043_1632/2624/0005.jpeg
Edgehill introduced
(6) Eriophyllum confertiflorum 4" pots planted on 2-2000 from CNPS
(19) Eriophyllum staechadifolium 4" pots planted on 12-1999 from LCR
Nursery/Lake Merced
(6) 4" pots planted on 2-2000 from CNPS
Pope Valley
Eriophyllum lantanum, Wooly Sunflower. In hot rocky places. A single flower on
a lanky stem.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/6043_1632/2626/0086.jpeg
Rodeo
Grows sturdily in clumps from rock outcroppings that are otherwise
overwhelmed by Scotch Broom. Oregon Grape grows with them.
San Rafael Hill
Probably confertifolium. Just barely survives as small plants in a few spots.
California Cotton Rose
Filago californica
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=16970&one=T
Jeff Caldwell
"California Cotton Rose" is one of a number of species once comprising the
"grass" all over the state, in the days before European contact... a common
[where natives are still 'common'!] inconspicuous member of the Asteraceae.
Mary Bowerman [The Flowering Plants and Ferns of Mount Diablo, California]
calls it "California Cotton Rose" -- I appreciate her attempts to come up with
appropriate common names. From observations made in the early 30s, she
describes its habitat, occurrence and flowering season on Mount Diablo as:
"Open grassy knolls and cherty flats, in the shade of shrubs, upon the edge of
chaparral, and on chaparral-burns. >From the base to the summit. Frequent.
March to May." She notes its associates: "Variable, including Tillaea erecta
[Crassula connata], Astragalus Gambelianus, Lotus sp., Trifolium sp., Phacelia
distans, Plantago erecta, Psilocarphus tenellus."
Micropus californicus also seems [similar] from the drawing in Jepson. It is
noted as even more common than Filago californica in Bowerman, with about the
same associates.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=17660&one=T
Pope Valley
Abundant in the best wildflower meadows.
San Rafael Hill
I've only seen it in one dry, rocky north slope area in the open with Platystemmon
(Cream Cups) & Clover.
file:///C|/_PROJECTS/PAUL/EDGEHILL/web/SanRafael/plants/fluff.htm
Gumweed
Grindelia hirsutula
San Francisco Gumplant var. maritima presumably. Long summer sunflower bloom
even in dry conditions. They get a white spot in center of the flower which on closer
inspection, is sticky, foamy goo. The plump spiny seed heads are also quite gummy.
This is not the saltmarsh & wetland species: Grindelia stricta var angustifolia. Pretty
flowers.
http://www.calacademy.org/research/botany/wildflow/names/203199.htm
Edgehill proposed
Seeds in flats fall 1999 from Twin Peaks -only one survived More collected
August 2000
Yellow Hayfield Tarweed
Hemizonia congesta
see Madia elegans.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=23569&one=T
Http://www.edgehill.net/parsons/hemizonia.htm
http://www.calacademy.org/research/botany/wildflow/names/2031109.htm
San Rafael Hill
Cat's Ear (Weed)
Hypochaeris
A dandilion.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=7364&one=T
Rodeo
Common on the bare soil of road cuts & along paths.
Goldfields
Lasthenia californica
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?where-taxon=Lasthenia+californica&special f
=calflora&where-anno=1
Pope Valley
And or other unidentified little yellow composites.
Vinegarweed
Lessingia
9-17-2000, I had a great weekend camping on the Sonoma Coast, (Salt Point State
Park) amongst Bishop Pines, Huckleberry (yum!) & Calmagrostis (Reedgrass). I
noticed a little lavender pink Aster-like flower in sunny, meadows which seems to be a
Lessingia. There were butterflies flitting around us all weekend, such a lovely time of
year.
Corethrogyne leucophylla, Branching Beach Aster
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=17303&one=T
I have a plant in my garden that is sprawling with silvery leaves & the same sort of
lavender aster flowers. I got at a CNPS sale years ago & recall it is not something that
actually grows near here, the label now only reads "...folia" perhaps it is some variety
of Lessingia filaginifolia, Common California-aster (although it looks
more like the Corethrogyne above & the one at salt point looks more like this (with
green leaves).
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=12685&one=T
Another species I've heard of is Lessingia germanorum, San Francisco Vinegarweed,
an yellow annual composite. This is now a very rare/threatened sand dune species but
Parsons 1897 books describes as "found plentifully from San Diego to San Francisco".
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=23450&one=T
http://members.aol.com/skkato1/Lessingia.html
CalFlora shows 27 species in California…
Paul's garden
Salt Point
Elegant Madia
Madia elegans
Common Madia, Tarweed. The Tarweeds are common & widespread; there are many
different species & two genus'. Both this & Hemizonia are oily/sticky all over & have
a pleasant fragrance. Madia usually only opens in the evening & early morning. The
oily leaves & subtle fragrance are distinctive. The great thing about the tarweeds is
their late blooming (also in the spring), and they are annuals from dry meadows. It
would seem easy to grow them, I've collected some seed & will give it a try.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=13453&one=T
Http://www.edgehill.net/parsons/madia.htm
http://www.calacademy.org/research/botany/wildflow/names/2031112.htm
California Natives listserve
Appealing? Can you tell me what other than the smell is appealing?? (I know all
plants are useful and have there purpose, but I don't know if I would INVITE tar
weed into my yard. I hiked 20 miles through the stuff, and I still can't get it out of
my skirt! :)
Agreed, the "tar" is a bother. It washed off my jeans OK from a half hour walk
but maybe not so easily for lighter fabrics subjected to a 20 mile hike. Madia
elegans is a particularly showy flower & all of them are welcome by me for their
late summer bloom under very dry conditions. True, these are often considered
weeds but... for a larger garden or open space that cannot be watered at all & is
in the hot sun, it's a treat to get the big showy flowers, this is something that can
survive in annual weedy grasses. I saw some interesting bees visiting them on
San Rafael Hill & suspect that butterflies could also make good use of them since
they are active that time of year. The abundant seeds can be eaten & a good oil
extracted from them. Good point though: don't ever plant them where you would
be casually strolling through them in nice clothes.
San Rafael Hill
Common in dry meadows. September, 2000 I saw fields full of big thigh-high
two inch wide Madia blossoms with Pearly Everlasting. In previous years I only
noticed a somewhat smaller Hemizonia congesta which is similar but pure
yellow without the red center.
Molina (Weed)
Madia sativa
An introduced species (not certain if native) with a much smaller, pale yellow blossom
than Madia elegans but the same sticky fragrant foliage & it blooms in the spring.
Madia sativa, Coastal Madia, Chilean Madia (introduced)
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=19476&one=T
Http://www.edgehill.net/parsons/madia.htm
Http://www.edgehill.net/parsons/hemizonia.htm f
http://www.calacademy.org/research/botany/wildflow/names/2031112.htm
Pope Valley
Rodeo
on road cuts
Sunol
I saw a couple more Madias in the East Bay (Sunol Regional "Wilderness") last
weekend, late sept, 2000. I put wilderness in quotes because it is grazed to death
out there... but, because the cattle don't appreciate the tarweeds, there were large
meadows full of it. There was a white & a yellow flowered species unlike others
I've seen. They could have been weeds too?
Western Coltsfoot
Petasites palmatus
Properly Petasites frigidus var. palmatus, Arctic Sweet Coltsfoot. Redwood forest
native. Native Americans extracted "salt" from the leaves by burning them.
Paul's garden
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.
Mule's Ears
Wyethia
W. helenoides
W. angustifolia
Early summer sunflower. Abundant nectar, seeds & leaves host numerous insects,
attracts birds. This plant is so well utilized that by winter the leaves get stripped down
to a skeleton by insects.
http://www.calacademy.org/research/botany/wildflow/names/20713.htm
Edgehill proposed
Locate seed.
Pope Valley
Big healthy clumps. There are two species that grow in the valley.
San Rafael Hill
This is a different species than the one I'm familiar with at Rodeo & other places.
The leaves are larger & more shiny/less fuzzy. Perhaps Wyethia glabra, Kozloff.
Smooth Mule-ears, Coast Range Mulesears, Shining Mule Ears
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=11233&one=T
BARBERRY FAMILY
Berberidaceae
Oregon Grape
Berberis aquifolium
There are tall ones & short ones. A fine evergreen shrub or groundcover with showy
flowers & fruit which I would guess is a delicacy for birds. The tall form can become
a large srub.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=3148&one=T
Rodeo
Grows on the windy fog-swept ridgetops with Huckleberry (Vaccinium) and
Eriophyllum among rock gardens near the summits.
BIRCH FAMILY
Betulaceae
Birch, Alder
California Hazelnut
Corylus cornuta
Propagate from basal cuttings. Looks great in under-story of large trees in groves of
multi-trunk tree/shrubs in a fountain shape. Autumn leaves make a rich mulch. Nuts are
tasy but few & other critters usually get them first (as with chinquapin). The wide
translucent mint shaped leaves catch the light in dark shady forests making it seem
bright. Grows compact when wind clipped in coastal scrub also.
Edgehill proposed
Would be nice where the trees will likeley remain... in the background.
Paul's garden
One vigorour windclipped specimen. The leaves tend to get a white mildew &
fall off very slowly.
Rodeo
Common coastal scrub component.
BORAGE FAMILY
Boraginaceae
Forget me nots & other beautiful blue flowering weeds.
Common Fiddleneck
Amsinckia menziesii
Yellow fiddlehead flower on a tall plant. Common in disturbed areas. Native but
considered a weed because it's poisonous to cattle.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=6318&one=T
Pope Valley
In hayfields/valley grasslands.
There was also a small sprawling thing that may have been the same species
growing low after being mowed.
Hound's Tongue
Cynoglossum grande
Dormant in fall. Plant near ferns to hide.
Pope Valley
Forested ridgetop shade.
San Rafael Hill
In woods.
MUSTARD OR RADISH FAMILY
Brassicaceae
One of very few plants which are not mycorhizal. The "wild mustard" is a long established
weed from the Misssion days.
Coast Rock Cress
Arabis blepharophylla
Bright pink winter blooming cabbage from rocky areas near the coast. A Bay Area.
Endemic.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=4179&one=T
possible caterpillars:
California White, Pontia sisymbrii,
-larvae black banded against yellow
Creamy Marblewing, Euchloe ausonides,
-larvae: grey with black dots & yellow stripes
and Cabbage white
Edgehill introduced
(30) 4" pots planted on 12-1999 from LCR Nursery
Paul's garden
Did not survive in the shade & drought (without regular heavy fog).
Milk Maids
Cardamine californica
Dentaria californica
http://www.edgehill.net/parsons/dentaria.htm
San Rafael Hill
Common in woods in winter.
BLUEBELL FAMILY
Campanulaceae
Downingia
Downingia
Showy blue vernal pool wildflowers. Many species, much variation.
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/othrdata/westflor/species/8/downbico.htm
Pope Valley
Downingia bicornuta, Bristled Downingia on Pope Canyon Road (Napa Flora)
My husband and I were in Pope Valley yesterday, and it is still as you describe
it. We have been going there for 50 years, and always look for our favorite
vernal pools which are as blue as lakes with downingia. This year the downingia
was there but trampled earlier by cattle so it was sparse. Next year grapes, we
feel. The valley was a quiet agricultural valley until a few years ago, but now we
are upset at all the corporation vineyards going in, replacing the local farmers.
Elly Bade, Berkeley
HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY
Caprifoliaceae
Elderberry is in the Honeysuckle family, surprisingly.
Hairy Honeysuckle
Lonicera hispidula
Lonicera hispidula var. vacillans, Pink Honeysuckle.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=8411&one=T&where-anno=1
Lonicera subspicata, Southern Honeysuckle. Pale.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=24086&one=T&where-anno=1
Edgehill proposed
Get some to replace the invasive-exotic Japanese Honeysuckle that someone
planted surreptitiously.
San Rafael Hill
var vacillans? Common inconspicuous groundcover in woods. There are also
some that bloom & grow large. I guess the ground cover is just how it grows in
shade & drought?
Twinberry
Lonicera involucrata
More of a shrub than a vine.
Edgehill proposed
Thrives nearby at Laguna Honda with blackberries in huge, dense brambles.
Jeff Caldwell
A twinberry in the DeAnza College Environmental Study Area [a small
botanic/habitat garden in Cupertino, the "ESA"] was the favorite hangout of a
song sparrow for years; whenever I worked in there it was almost a sure bet that
I would see the song sparrow coming back to the bush, which seemed to be its
very favorite place in the whole wide world; I imagined it to be the nerve center
of its home range.. One of the sentences from Native Plants: A Viable Option
(CNPS Special Publication #3, 1977) that stuck with me was from Alice G.
Meyer's article, "Natives in the Home Garden", discussing twinberry: "The
berries disappear almost before they can be seen since birds relish them" (p.
100). That was just the sort of information I was looking for...
It likes moist soil and is placed next to an artificial stream under the alders in the
ESA.
Martha Booz
I have a Lonicera involucrata in my yard. It was there when I moved in over 18
years ago. It has been pruned heavily by me and the previous owners. It is on the
south side and gets full sun till about 2:30 pm. There is a fig tree to the west,
which shades it after that. It got very sparse during the last drought, even though I
watered. It is lovely now. Mine blooms almost all the time, so it always has
both blossoms and the fruit on it. During the winter only the youngest leaves
survive. It is one of my favorite plants.
It is easy to root cuttings, especially in the spring. I live in the
northeast bay if anyone wants a cutting or two.
Elderberry
Sambucus
One of my favorite plants. Books say blue Elderberry is the superior garden species
but I don’t have a problem with (Sambucus racemosa) Red Elderberry's bright red fruit
even if they aren’t edible for people, birds love them. Blue Elderberry needs a little
water but won't die without it. It's deciduous & makes gobs of berries for the birds &
big clusters of creamy flowers. Red Elderberry is not edible for people when raw, &
needs more water.
Regarding Eldeberries & brushpiles: At Edgehill Mountain there is abundant brush to
be disposed of. The Eucs, Pines & Cypress produce huge piles of branches just from
getting in cleaned it out & safe. When you start removing Eucalyptus for revegetating,
The debris piles really grow & include 30" trunks cut up in huge segments. There is no
practical way to remove it on the steep slopes. It seems silly to fill a dump with it. I
used firewood length unsplit pine logs for stepping pads & they've rotted in a few
years, being buried. I'd guess any amount of soil sprinkled on logs would help speed up
the composting. I heard the proper way to build a brush pile is with the large stuff at
the bottom & gradually finer material on top. I guess this helps it decompose & it's
intended to make pockets for songbirds to hide in to escape predators. In Pope Valley,
I saw a brush pile grown over in Elderberry which was real nice. All the big leaves in
the fall help compost, the shade holds in moisture & Elderberries kind of look like
brush piles when growing in groups any way. The whole bramble was crawling with
birds.
Edgehill existing
There are large colonies of Red Elderberry on the vacant lots of Edgehill
Mountain
Edgehill introduced
Existing on site -cuttings rooted directly in soil.
(6) planted 1-2000 from SFNAP (S. mexicanus, Blue Elderberry?)
Jeff Caldwell
The elderberry is almost in a class by itself when it comes to berries that attract
birds. More species of birds are known to be attracted to elderberries than any
other berrying plant. Only on an elderberry, at one time, in one small stand, have
I seen woodpeckers, quail, thrashers and other birds feasting on the ripe fruits!
Pope Valley
Along the creek usually.
San Rafael Hill
Occasional Blue Elderberry.
Snowberry
Symphoricarpos albus
One of my favorite Plain Jane plants, Snowberry is pleasant & useful & pretty. The
berries really look like snow, especially if you crush them. The flowers are little bells
like huckleberry or manzanita.
Edgehill existing
Existing nearby in a neighbor's yard. Seed collected August 2000, Twin Peaks.
Edgehill proposed
Seed collected 8-2000, Twin Peaks.
Las Pilitas Nursery
A 2-4' deciduous shrub, gradually forming a small thicket 4-6' wide. Native to
the coast ranges, San Luis Obispo north to Alaska. It has edible, (only if you are
dying!) white berries. It likes sun to shade, some summer water. Hummingbirds
work this in summer when the small pinkish flowers are on it. We sell a large
amount of this in the fall because of the white berries... This is a nice underused
plant. If you live in an area of snow it is an effective large scale groundcover. Its
root system is vigorous and deep enough to hold most banks. It is streamside in
many locales and would be an excellent restoration plant. Thrashers and towhees
will eat the berries when they get hungry enough to eat them. (They are very
bitter.) (The berries rot on the bushes in good years, in bad they do not even get a
chance to ripen.) This plant is native down the road from us where there is a
little more moisture. There, the rainfall range seems to be 25" and up. Soils do
not seem to matter as long as they can drain a little. This species can take the
interior conditions a whole lot better than S. mollis.
Paul's garden
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. 2000 has been a banner
year for the fruit!
Pope Valley
Along the creek, amongst the Hymalayaberries & Roses.
San Rafael Hill
Occasional
CARNATION FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
Mouse-Eared Chickweed
Cerastium arvense
The latin translates to 'Field Carnation'. Common in the Northern Hemisphere. Keator
speaks favorably about it. Not a weed, it's a nice plant. Fresh white flowers with 5
split-lipped petals. Neater than Cardamine californica, Milkmaids but not as clean as
Romanzoffia. Opposite linear leaves typical of carnations.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?where-taxon=Cerastium+arvense&special=calflora
Edgehill proposed
Would be happy on steep coastal slopes.
Pope Valley
This doesn't have the mouse ears on the flower but looks similar otherwise. On
the dry summit.
Rodeo
Found one lanky plant blooming along the road. 5-5-2000
Indian Pink
Silene californica
Scarlet Campion. Spectacular red flower with fringed edge.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=19909&one=T
Paul's garden
I want it but probably the snails would eat it & I'm afraid we don't have enough
sun.
Pope Valley
Chiles Valley/Lake Hennessey on road cuts.
Catchfly, Campion
Silene verecunda
San Francisco campion, verecunda ssp. verecunda?
Whitish flower, inconspicuous.
http://www.calacademy.org/research/botany/wildflow/names/207128.htm
Edgehill introduced
(3) planted 2-2000 from CNPS/LCR "SF County"
Doing well. There is an exotic, similar species growing right nearby in the cracks
of rocks, Silene gallica, Windmill Pink.
MORNING GLORY FAMILY
Convolvulaceae
Includes Dichondra, a native that has been used as a drought tolerant lawn & grows other
places in the world, generally considered a weed.
Morning Glory
Calystegia purpurea
A loveley plant in coastal scub. Can be distinguished from Bindweed, Convolvulus
arvensis by it's persistent flexible stem. Bindweed resprouts from the ground.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/5207_1611/1136/0090.jpeg
There are many fine native Morning Glories (from CalFlora):
beach morning-glory, Beach
Berry's morning-glory, Sierra
Bodega morning-glory
Cambria morning-glory
coast morning-glory, island
hill morning-glory, Stemless
hillside morning-glory
island bindweed
island morning-glory
Jepson's morning-glory, Sierran
Kern morning-glory, chaparral
marsh morning-glory, hedge
Mt. Saint Helena morning-glory
Peirson's morning-glory
Piute morning-glory
range bindweed
San Diego morning-glory, island
Santa Barbara morning-glory
Sierra morning-glory
Sierra morning-glory, Woolly
smooth western morning-glory
Sonora morning-glory
south coast morning-glory, island
southern California morning-glory,
Stebbins's morning-glory, Cutleaf
three-fingered morning-glory, coast
western hedge bindweed
western morning-glory
They all go dormant in winter but have showy flowers, some are climbing, some
spreading, all need lot's of water to get established but are then tough. The one I
planted in my garden didn't survive.
Edgehill existing
Many persisting on site especially above "The Wall" New seedlings are
common.
Edgehill introduced
(1) 4" pot planted on 2-2000 from CNPS/LCR Nursery
Keator
Winter dormant. Not to be confused with the invasive exotic Bindweed although
it sure looks similar. Bindweed has a rootstock that divides & our Morning Glory
comes from a central swollen root.
Las Pilitas Nursery
(C. macrostegia )Twining vine, with large creamy flowers, in rocky areas of
chaparral, coastal sage scrub, does best in afternoon shade, summer dormant,
looks weedy unless in perfect condition. herbaceous perennial from a woody
base (caudex).
Pope Valley
Field bindweed is common in fields but I aslo found a pale yellow one in a hot
dry rocky spot.
DOGWOOD FAMILY
Cornaceae
Red Twig Dogwood
Cornus sericea
American Dogwood. A suckering, water loving shrub like willow & almost as easy to
make cuttings from. I asked for this plant in a nursery & the only ones they had were 12
feet tall in 5 gallon cans, firmly rooted in the wet ground. The Aids memorial in
Golden Gate Park incorporates a "Dogwood Crescent" that uses this plant to it's best
effect: down in a hollow, surrounding a quiet space. Jepson almost gives up on
defining the variations for this species, mentioning ssp. Occidentalis & ssp sericea.
Also Cornus glabrata, Brown Dogwood is similar. There is a clippped glabrata in the
Santa Barbara Botanical Garden which is a memorable specimen.
Paul's garden
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.
STONECROP FAMILY
Crassulaceae
Succulents.
Liveforever
Dudleya
Bluff Lettuce. Small succulent with rosette on rocks. Sprinkle seeds in fall directly.
Easy sprouting. http://www.EDGEHILL.net/dudleya.jpg
Dudleya farinosa is a Southern California species & caespitosa is a Northern
Californian. Jepson lists Dudleya Cymosa in the SF Bay Area also, I'm not sure of the
difference.
Edgehill existing
Only the green leafed form remains but the green & siver forms occur side by
side in nearby open spaces. There are several abundant non-native succulents on
Edgehill Mountain that are somewhat similar.
Edgehill introduced
(3) 1 gal Dudleya farinosa 2-2000 from from Hawk Hill (CNPS) planted on
Steve's Rocks.
Edgehill proposed
I'm growing some of the silver leafed type from seed very sucessfully. A few
broken stems were planted from just downslope.
Las Pilitas Nursery
A hummingbird plant.
Paul's garden
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.
Stonecrop
Sedum spathuifolium
Lrval food for Elfin Butterflies (Incisalia). There is a small non-native sprawling
succulent that looks similar on Twin Peaks & San Bruno Mountain growing with the
Sedum.
Edgehill existing
Existing next door in a neighbor's yard (I can't find it now though).
Edgehill proposed
Get seed.
CUCUMBER FAMILY
Cucurbitaceae
Manroot, Wild Cucumber
Marah fabaceus
Vigorous vine with impressive spiny fruit. Large root sometimes branches & looks like
a human figure. Grows like crazy as long as there is water then dries up.
CNPS
http://home.pacbell.net/bors/gard_sigg_manroot.html
Daniel Segal
Nick the seeds as you would morning glory seeds, till you see some of the
white color of the endosperm. Then soak them for a day or two and plant, or
just plant and keep moist. Plant the seeds in containers that are deep
enough to support the unusually rapid first flush of growth on Marah. The
first year's growth can result in a tuber as large as 2-4 inches long and
1-2 inches wide--deepots work well, or gallons, or anything bigger than a
liner size.
Also, plant them deep enough that they don't cook before sending up that
first shoot--1/2" of soil over the top of the seed is ok.
Sometimes they go dormant if planted in summer, and if they do just let them
go dry in the shade for the warm dry months. They will put out another shoot
in fall.
Dan Segal
Edgehill existing
Common.
Rodeo
Common.
San Rafael Hill
Common under Oaks & Bay.
HEATHER FAMILY
Ericaeae
Plants from the heather family do well in very acidic soils. Some favorite heather shrubs
include Evergreen Huckleberry, Salal, Manzanita and Madrone... all with characteristic
tiny nectar filled bell flowers in winter.
Madrone
Arbutus menziesii
Evergreen tree with smooth red peeling bark & big glossy leaves.
Rodeo
Seems to make wonderfully rich micorrhizal soil downslope from the falling
leaves.
San Rafael Hill
Grows in the old quarry on bare red chert gravel.
Manzanita
Arctostaphylos
Dry, sunny acid loving plants. Some are fog tolerant. Kinickinicks grow all over the
world but Manzanitas are only found from Oregon to Arizona, California & Mexico.
Edgehill introduced
(3) 4" pots planted on 2-2000 from CNPS
Species was not labelled but I'm guessing it was A hookeri ssp. franciscana,
Franciscan Manzanita, San Francisco Manzanita or Raven's Manzanita
(Arctostaphylos hookeri var. ravenii) Only one naturally occuring plant survives
in the world in The Presidio. Can be propagated well. Hookeri is is a popular
species for ornamental cultivars that perform well in gardens and there are many
wild subspecies. Gravel or larger rocks make a nice disease free mulch. Acid
rocky soils, serpentine.
Frosty Hollow Ecological Restoration
On the question of edibility of Arctostaphylos uva ursi, we process a lot of seed,
some of it from kinnick kinnick. We dry the berries, and then grind them in a grain
mill. This gives us clean seed, plus a grainy powder mixed with bits of skin. I
sift out the skin and eat the powder. It is mildly sweet, reminiscent of rose hips.
You can just taste the vitamin C. I find it delicious. I've promised myself for
years
that I would work up a dessert recipe, but usually I lick up all the powder, so
there's nothing left with which to experiment.
Here in Washington Arctostaphylos grows from sandy beaches on the
pacific coast to dry subalpine areas. It seems to have a very wide ecological
amplitude, thriving in very dry to moderately wet areas, and tolerant of mild to
very harsh cold climates. It's easy to propagate and grows fairly rapidly without
a lot of fuss or attention. A great
groundcover.
Marianne Edain
Paul's garden
'Sentinel' & A. manzanita 'Dr. Hurd' struggling in the shade.
San Rafael Hill
Only a few plants with silver foliage. Seedlings come up in the gravel quarry
also.
Salal
Gaultheria shallon
Sometimes sold in florists shops as "lemon leaves", Salal is like a ground cover
Blueberry (little flavor but edible). The leaves tend to get a silvery disease every year.
Paul's garden
Did not survive, but I'd like to try again near the Huckleberries, Azaleas & Yerba
Buena.
Western azalea
Rhododendron occidentale
Richly fragrant pink-white-yellow blossoms, deciduous.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=9832&one=T
Paul's garden
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
Evergreen Huckleberry
Vaccinium ovatum
Delicious fruit, intense flavor, slow growing from seed, cuttings difficult. Neat glossy
leaves, new growth can be fiery red or bronze. Grows in spurts making a sort of
awkward habit or grows clipped by the wind on ridge tops. Can be clipped in the
garden like a boxwoood if you like. Needs moisture but seems to thrive & make the
best fruit with old plants in the sun, sometimes on very rocky barren chaparral slopes.
Can grow in creeks or on top of old rotten Redwood stumps...
Along a river where Salmon spawn a few miles from the ocean In Mendocino County, I
saw Pelican droppings full of Crawdad shells & purple from huckleberry fruit… those
guys have a pretty good life.
Edgehill proposed
Seed gathered fall 1999 Mt. Davidson,never sprouted in flats. Cuttings gathered
for LCR 4-2000, some successful.
There is a whole big thicket of it that is thriving with Calmagrostis nutkaensis &
Festuca californica on the fog drenched Northwest slope of the summit of Mount
Davidson under the fog drip of a eucalyptus.
Paul's garden
They are not really thriving in our clay but are surviving OK & hopefully will be
grand some day.
Salt Point
EUCALYPTUS FAMILY
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus (Weed)
Eucalyptus
A powerful invasive weed. Don't get me started…
Rodeo
There is a substantial grove growing from the spring at the source of the creek
which must be kept from growing & eliminated some day.
San Rafael Hill
An old grove around the springs above the Mission require expensive pruning for
fire safety.
PEA FAMILY
Fabaceae
Woodland Pea
Lathyrus vestitus
Pink flower, folded leaflets. Common. Spring vetch is a common agricultural cover
crop with brighter pink flowers. Supposed to have fragrant foliage, I'll have to check…
Edgehill existing
Common sprawling vine.
Deerbroom
Lotus purshianus
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/8120_3181/4014/0106.jpeg
An annual lotus with a pink flower.
San Rafael Hill
I saw a very small pink flowered lotus growing with a small annual lupine, blue
eyed grass & some owl's clover in exposed rocky dry areas.
Scott Stewart
I really like
Lotus Pershianus also especially in heavily disturbed soils with low organic
matter and low fungal presence-exposed parent rock and regolith, etc
Steve Erickson
My experience with this species in Oregon and Washington is that it
has a very wide amplitude, in terms of its hydological tolerance. In
the Willamette Valley and Washington, it grows in vernal wetlands
("wet prairies"), and also dry compacted seriously trashed sites.
I've seen it from near sea level to fairly high in the Cascade
Mountains. Like every other native legume I've ever dug up, it
nodulates and apparently naturally fixes Nitrogen wherever if
naturally occurs. As a prolificaly seeding N fixing annual, its very
well adopted to colonizing disturbed sites, particularly those that
are compacted either by human activity or by due to soil type. That's
my experience in the far north here.
Deerbroom
Lotus scoparius
Low spreading yellow pea flower often on sandy soils. Good to trim them back, as if
browsed by a deer to encourage branching.
Edgehill introduced
(5) 4" pots planted on 12-1999 from LCR Nursery
(1) 4" pots planted on 2-2000 from CNPS/LCR Nursery
Paul's garden
From seed collected in a gravel parking lot in Pescadero Marsh. Common, I'm
not sure, some exotic Lotus is similar
Pope Valley
A different species with fuzzy leaves?
San Rafael Hill
An upright form, L. subpinnatus?
Small Lupines
Lupinus
Mission Blue butterfly, (Icaricia icarioides missionensis) host plant (three species
Lupinus albifrons, L. variicolor, and L. formosus). Requires steep slope & or fire to
keep bare soil for reseeding.
http://www.mip.berkeley.edu/essig/endins/mission.htm
Lupinus varicolor:
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=12079&one=T
Edgehill proposed
Opportunity to attract threatened butterfly species.
Collected seed from Twin Peaks 5-5-2000
Pope Valley
Lupinus nanus, Douglas's Lupine, petite blue annual in mass.
San Rafael Hill
L. nanus?
Silver Bush Lupine
Lupinus albifrons
Blue flower, silver leaves, 2-3'
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=12735&one=T
http://www.calacademy.org/research/botany/wildflow/names/207153.htm
Edgehill proposed
A few seeds collected August 2000, Twin Peaks
Pope Valley
One healthy clump on a sandbar in the creek.
Yellow Bush Lupine
Lupinus arboreus
There is a blue form also in the Bay Area. Considered an invasive weed on north coast
beaches.
Paul's garden
Came up from seed we spread.
Chamisso's Lupine
Lupinus chamissonis
Very silvery beach plant. Difficult outside sand dunes, sometimes in rocky places also.
L. arboreus, "tree lupine" is a central/south coast beach plant that is actually an
invasive weed on north coast beaches & it can get fairly big but not really a tree & not
very tall in the windy places where it grows. Generally lupines need good sun, good
drainage & would be likely to rot as small plants in a rich humus soil. Once you get em
happy they are vigorous though, although rather short lived. If you get seeds, they take
a lot of work to make them sprout. You are supposed to scarify them (scratch with
sandpaper). I actually had success with a short dip in boiling hot water but it still takes
some months for them to sprout. The healthiest lupine I ever saw was growing on a
gravelly bank with it's toes in a soggy drainage ditch about two feet down slope from
the trunk, so I guess it had good drainage at the crown & a really good source of water
to go crazy with too.
"I am a firm believer in sowing seed fresh. Never mind all this business about
scarification/stratification after the seed over winters and develops its defensive tough
seed coat. When you can, get your planting materials together at home then get out and
collect seed, bring them home and sow the next day. This is not always practical of
course, but it is very satisfying."
thad davis
Edgehill introduced
(3) 4" pots planted on 2-2000 from CNPS/LCR Nursery/Hawk Hill
Valley Lupine
Lupinus microcarpus
Robust annual. Flowers & seeds in dense whorls.
Pope Valley
Common in mass. Local variety L. m. microcarpus is all pink.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=17790&one=T
Clover
Trifolium
Many exotic & native species
Pope Valley
A lovely, delicate Blue/ Purple Clover kind of like this one but a prettier blue:
Trifolium willdenovii, Tomcat Clover
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=10911&one=T
* possibly T. obtusiflorum, especially if growing in a damp area
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=10908&one=T
San Rafael Hill
A small spiky seeded pink one
Gorse (Weed)
Ulex europea
See http://www.edgehill.net/SanRafael/
San Rafael Hill
Vetch (Weed)
Vicia
Sprawling vine rather like the native Lathyrus (pale pink flowers). Considered very
desirable for cattle, keeps the bees excited too. However, it smothers natives & can be
easily stripped out where there are more interesting plants to encourage.
Pope Valley
Vicia sativa, Spring Vetch bright purple/blue.
BEECH FAMILY
Fagaceae
Chinquapin
Chrysolepis chrysophylla
Shrub or small tree found in rocky chaparall on Mount Tamalpais. Can be a large tree
in Oregon and grows pyramidal in form. Attractive felty yellow undersides on thick,
narrow evergreen leaves.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=18577&one=T
The fruit is a chestnut covered with very painful spines.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=11979&one=T
Delicious like Hazel, but the creatures leave next to nothing to collect.
Inverness
Old twisted bosques grow amongst Bishop Pine & Huckleberry chaparal in a
gravelly & sandy red soil.
Paul's garden
I've tried growing the seed & it sprouted but did not survive.
Coast Live Oak
Quercus agrifolia
Hosts a hundred different kinds of insects. Almost the only tree native to San
Francisco.
Some rambling thoughts about plants & soils… As I understand, conifer forest soils are
often a striking contrast of rich organic soils on top with bare mineral soils directly
below that... leached out from heavy rains. Roots may go down for water but all the
activity is in the mulch. Grasslands, on the other hand usually prosper in similar deep,
loose well drained areas which can develop into very rich soil. And at the same time,
they survive where shrubs can't even grow for lack of water. Oaks & other broad
leafed trees seem to make a deeper, richer soil but still the mulch layer is very
important. Where the oaks meet the meadows such as in a savannah, the spotty mix of
forest & grassland is very interesting. Oaks seem good for improving the soil, even
way down slope.
Edgehill proposed
Use for screening homes & views instead of Pines, Cypress & Eucs.
Paul's garden
Several appeared. Apparently planted by Bluejays in the bare soil I'm replanting.
Peter J. Warner
Oaks in California are hosts to hundreds of invertebrate species; in addition to
aphids, scale insects (also homopterans) can also produce "honeydew"
secretions that attract ants and contribute to mildew growth. Other invertebrates
common on oaks include tree lice, mites, leaf-, stem- and fruit-galling wasps,
herbivorous and predatory beetles, moths, and flies. All these invertebrates
contribute to oaks as habitat for a number of vertebrate species, especially birds.
If your oak appears healthy, it probably is. I would not use insecticides or other
pesticides except as a last resort to address any oak health issue, and not without
at least one professional consultation about the nature of the problem. Before
using pesticides, one of many remedial alternatives should be considered,
including accepting some level of insect activity, even mess-making aphids.
These homopterans feed on the sugary photosynthate delivered through phloem
vessels to areas of new growth in plants. Ants (unfortunately, mostly the
introduced Argentine species) are often a symptom of aphids, as is sooty mildew.
San Rafael Hill
Blue Oak
Quercus douglasii
Deciduous oak from hot, dry areas. Pastel pink-orange/yellow fall color & flush pink
spring growth. Common in the Digger Pine Belt.
Pope Valley
Part of the mix of Oaks.
Valley Oak
Quercus lobata
Deciduous. Best growth when it can reach the water table. A friend told me they heard
about someone planting a "string" of Valley Oaks from a river bank, up hundreds of
feet to a meadow to bring more moisture to the soil for farming. Along the same lines,
John Muir wondered whether Giant Sequoias grow in springs or cause springs where
they grow.
Pope Valley
Another fine Oak.
CURRANT FAMILY
Grossulariaceae
Pink Flowering Currant
Ribes sanguinium
Pungent, maple leaf, large shrub. R. speciosum (Fuschia-flowered Gooseberry) is a
smaller, more delicate species with prickles:
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=18351&one=T
I saw one in Big Sur near chaparall that had a wonderful big suckering fountain shape.
Edgehill introduced
(+-12) "deep pots" planted 1-2000 from SFNAP
Paul's garden
A thorny Gooseberry from Woods in Tiburon with loveley fall color.
Golden Currant (R. aureum) from an East Bay CNPS sale.
Gymnosperms
Coast Redwood
Sequioia sempervirens
http://www.batnet.com/askmar/Redwoods/Redwood.html
Paul's garden
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.
HORSECHESTNUT FAMILY
Hippocastanaceae
California Buckeye
Aesculus californica
The best way to grow them is from seed when it is available. Find a tree, look on the
ground and just push a few seeds half way into the ground where you want them & you
will see if it's working, some will probably rot. Buckeyes can be grown as multitrunk
shrubs if pruned that way. You should be aware that they lose their leaves toward the
end of summer & look like they are dying if not watered.
Nectar supposedly poisonous which I don't understand
-why it would want to poison it's pollinator bugs?
CNPS
http://home.pacbell.net/bors/gard_sigg_buckeye.html
Paul's garden
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.
San Rafael Hill
Common in valleys where there is some groundwater.
WATERLEAF FAMILY
Hydrophyllaceae
Yerba Santa
Eriodictyon californicum
(Black Sage) Small, open shrub with fragrant waxy leaves. Gets black mildew on
leaves.
Pope Valley
On the ridgetop.
Baby Blue-eyes
Nemophila menziesii
Small annual. Popular for wildflower seed mixes.
http://www.calacademy.org/research/botany/wildflow/names/207176.htm
Rodeo
A white form is abundant in one meadow.
http://www.calacademy.org/research/botany/wildflow/names/207172.htm
Scorpion Flower
Phacelia californica
California Phacelia. Microlepidoptera host and Macrolepidoptera (butterfly) nectar
source. Fuzzy lavender fiddlehead & distinctively lobed pinnate silver gray leaves.
Weedy on bare rocky dry soils. Can get prickly & can look rather weedy because it is
weedy.
Edgehill introduced
Seed spread by Rec & Park 12-1999 A few seedlings are doing well!
Paul's garden
An easy plant, love the leaf & flower. Weedy looking later in season.
Pope Valley
Phacelia imbricata? Grows above the Winery on a steep bank with Gilia. Pale
lavender/white.
Branched Phacelia
Phacelia ramosissima
Phacelia ramosissima var. ramosissima? Jepson
Phacelia distans?
Annual fern-leafed variety, white form
close up of flower: http://www.stanford.edu/~rawlings/kengif/phacram.htm
Edgehill existing
Seed spread 12-1999
An email to Joan Kingery:
"The Phacelia ramossisima seeds are sprouting! I gathered some seeds from up
on Spiers' land this summer & sprinkled them around Sunday after the planting.
They are a voracious weed that will grow like mad & be covered with white
fiddle head flowers that the bees will go crazy for. They bloom in spring & by
late spring/early summer, the leaves will dry up & look dead but don't worry next
year there will be even more because they are prolific seed makers. The seeds
were collected from near one of the geologic test pits where they dug up the
ground revealing the old buried seed bank. There was Brodaeia capitata, Blue
Dicks growing there also. A FLORA OF SAN FRANCISCO says P. ramossisima
was found in the Presidio once but it was probably a mistake. Scott Hoge at Rec
& Park says he saw it over above Kensington. Phacelia ramossisima
ramossisima appeared on the list of species that he & Lisa put together when they
walked the site in '98. Regardless, it's happy there, will cover the ground
splendidly & will be the only verified population of the species in San Francisco
which should be interesting to the purists (myself included). It's also conceivable
that the seed fell off of the geologist's auger & it's a bastard plant. Or it could be
a tiny remnant population with a distinct genetic pattern to be named Phacelia
ramossisima edgehillensis (vastly idealistic scenario). The Jepson Manual of the
Higher Plants of California says "varieties are difficult and need study". I believe
I saw the same stuff on San Bruno Mountain Saturday also. Any ways, it was
sprouting in the area that I stabilized with rock "mulch" below your favorite fern
patch & is getting a good head start from the additional irrigation. (the Erharta
grass is sprouting there too) I will water again this weekend.
Abundant white fiddlehead flowers drive bees crazy. An important nectar source
for mission blue butterflies on Twin Peaks. When it dries up by early July it is
real hard to find. Prickly hairs can be a nuisance, some people are allergic. I’ve
seen Phacelia californica in many places but never seen ramosissima anywhere
else.
Las Pilitas Nursery
(P. r. austrolitoralis) Perennial with white to lavender flowers, in curved
clusters, showy, grows on coastal bluffs and dunes, goes deciduous in the
summer after flowering, low growing, spreading, only noticeable during
flowering. CA, WA, ID, AZ,
HYPERICUM FAMILY
Hypericaceae
Common St. Johnswort (Weed)
Hypericum perforatum
Klamathweed.Beautiful rich yellow flower.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=7362&one=T
Pope Valley
A beetle was introduced to control the plant in pastures & fields. We saw some
irridescent 'ladybug' type beetles in a blossom.
IRIS FAMILY
Iridaceae
Douglas Iris
Iris douglasii
The only thing I've seen kill Iris douglasii is poor drainage & rotting problems if mulch
gets into the crown, so keep a little area clear & don't bury them when planting. It's a
really tough easy plant in sun, shade or whatever.
http://www.pacificcoastiris.org/framesoc.html
Edgehill proposed
Seeds sprouting in flats from Twin Peaks & Mount Davidson fall 1999
Paul's garden
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.
Rodeo
There is an iris, intermediate between the short violet macrosiphon & the more
common pale blue or yellow doulglasii (Marin Iris). A pure strain of Iris.
macrosiphon grows in a meadow above the Morning Sun Trail.
Twin Peaks
Douglas Iris grows in grassland on the open windy ridge tops and on the leeward
slopes in a rich blue tone. Iris longipetala makes pale finely striped flowers on
the Western slopes where direct ocean spray provides more moisture. The
longipetala has a more upright leaf than the ridge-top douglasii perhaps to keep
them from rotting in the wet fog.
Long-petaled Iris
Iris longipetala
Long-petaled iris, Keator
Jepson says not pink at base but is it supposed to have Short bulbous rhizomes.
-see I. Douglasii for comments.
Edgehill introduced
(3) Root divisions from approx. 1995 CNPS sale planted 2-2000
Ground Iris
Iris macrosiphon
Long Tubed Iris, Bowltube Iris. Narrow leaves, an extra long floral tube attached to a
half-inch stem and intense blue-violet flowers. The base of the leaves is not pink like
douglasii.
http://www.edgehill.net/SanRafael/plants/iris.jpg
Pope Valley
Above the winery near manzanitas & under pine in grasslands.
San Rafael Hill
Grows on hot rocky slopes. They are pollinated by ants because perhaps nothing
else can reach into the long siphon-like flower... ants are often abundant out in
hot open places. The seeds form down close to the dry rocky ground.
Blue-eyed Grass
Sisyrinchium bellum
Common, like a small iris, more fragile. Easiy to grow, reseeds.
Edgehill existing
Existing on the median of Idora st. nearby, probably planted.
Edgehill proposed
Always easy to grow from seed & beautiful.
Paul's garden
Grew some from San Rafael
Pope Valley
Common in moist lower meadows.
San Rafael Hill
Grows in abundance on the protected side of a deer fence. The meadow is
otherwise identical.
Yellow-eyed Grass
Sisyrinchuim californicum
Similar to Blue-eyed Grass but water loving & yellow. Flowers only open in full sun.
Paul's garden
I saw Skipper butterflies laying eggs on it. Seed from a swale in a Sonoma
County coastal bluff.
MINT FAMILY
Lamiaceae
Coyote Mint
Monardella villosa
ssp. Franciscana, San Francisco Coyote Mint. Long summer bloom of pink-purple
pom-poms in fairly dry conditions. Good butterfly nectar plant. Strong minty smell, not
edible that I know of. Neat green mounds of small round leaves & sprawling roots in
rocky soils. Can scramble up brush & be supported to two feet high or more.
Edgehill introduced
(4) 4" pots planted on 2-2000 from CNPS
Seed collected August 2000, Twin Peaks. This population has an extra sweet
scent, usually the minty flavor is more medicinal than flavorful. Seed collected
August 2000, Montara Mountain, I've never seen so many coyote mint as along
the old asphalt highway at the end of Higgins Rd.
Edgehill proposed
Monardella villosa ssp. Franciscana, Coyote Mint. Seed collected August 2000,
Twin Peaks. I'm not certain of subspecies. This Twin Peaks population has an
extra sweet scent, usually the minty flavor is more medicinal than flavorful.
San Rafael Hill
Occasional in shade of oaks.
Hummingbird Sage
Salvia spathacea
Red flowers, San Bruno Mountain dry rocky places.
Edgehill proposed
Grow from seed.
Yerba Buena
Satureja douglasii
Forms a open cushions in fog drip & filtered shade. Nice along paths where the
crushed leaves give off a sweet minty aroma. Makes good tea. Easily propagated from
rooted branches trailing along the ground in early summer.
Edgehill introduced
(5) 4" pots planted on 12-1999 from LCR Nursery
(4) 1 gal. pots planted on 2-2000 from CNPS
Doing very well right away!
Edgehill proposed
Can't have too much! Seed collected August 2000, Twin Peaks.
Paul's garden
A major part of our garden.
Savory
Satureja mimuloides
Red Mimulusflowered Yerba Buena. Red tubular hummingbird style flowers are tasty
to pluck & suck the sweet minty nectar from the bottom. The foliage has a sweet minty
aroma also. Requires some summer water but succulent roots survive well once
established much like Red Mimulus.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=20197&one=T&where-anno=1
Paul's garden
From a CNPS sale. Native to the Central Coast Ranges in Chaparral, Douglas-Fir
Forest.
Wood Mint
Stachys
Hedge Nettle. It doesn't smell like mint & it doesn't sting like a nettle but it's a nice
tough little plant with pleasant pink flowers. Stachys bullata is a similar species with
an overlapping range.
http://www.plants.montara.com/ListPages/FamPages/Lamia2.html#stachyscomp
Edgehill existing
Survives between ivy.
Edgehill introduced
Stachys ajugoides var. rigida (35) 4" pots planted on 12-1999 from LCR Nursery
Twin Peaks
Keator
Aggressive mint relatives. Same distinctive scent as closely related lamb's ears
used in gardens. Fall/winter dormant, increase from creeping rootstocks.
Invasive when watered.
Las Pilitas Nursery
Native to the coast ranges from S.F. to L.A.. In Apr.-Aug. it has 1/2"pink flowers
on a 1-2' spike that make excellent cut flowers. It likes part shade to full shade. It
will survive full sun only on the coast. It tolerates clay or sand. It does better
with moderate water. It is used a lot by butterflies. It has survived here for 12+
years with no water or care. It took a dive in the cold snap of 1990,but it
recovered. It is called hedge nettle but it doesn't sting. Use it in woodland
gardens or perennial gardens. It does sucker freely. This makes it useful in
northslope, eastslope rockwalls. This also helps the hummingbirds which like
this plant if they can get to it.
San Rafael Hill
common in woods
Coast Hedge Nettle
Stachys chamissonis
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=13283&one=T
Edgehill proposed
Known from San Francisco. Jeff Caldwell says it sounds interesting & would do
well there.
LAUREL FAMILY
Lauraceae
California Bay
Umbellularia californica
Evergreen tree with aromatic leaves which can be used in cooking but stronger than
Grecian Bay Laurel. Highly flamable.
San Rafael Hill
Gradually covering the hill, due to fire suppression. Old photos show much more
open grassy or shrubby areas. I've seen Ravens cracking the seeds on the parking
lot outside the office by dive-bombing the parking lot with the walnut-like nuts in
the spring.
LILY FAMILY
Liliaceae
The woodland lilies are a wonderful group of flowers that grow easily in well drained
shade: Scoliopus bigelovii, Trilliums, Smilacinas (False Solomon's Seal), Maianthemum
(False Lily of the Valley), Fairy Bells (Disporum), Streptuopus, Red Clintonia. Along
creeks in the shade: Erythronium (Trout Lily) and Lilium (Leopard Lily)...
In the sun there is a whole different group of colorful lilies: Brodaeia, Tritellia,
Dichelostemma , Calochortus, Chlorogalum, Zygadenus, Camassia, Allium…
Coastal Onion
Allium dichlamydeum
Summer dry, spring watering only, pink flower. Some species grow in wet meadows.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=3855&one=T f
http://www.calacademy.org/research/botany/wildflow/names/2071104.htm
Edgehill proposed
To go with the lily garden/rock garden. Collected a few seeds from Twin Peaks
August 2000 but most already fell out.
Paul's garden
A few slender grasslike bulbs from Tiburon & some from a CNPS sale (verify
species of these first two) & a few others from the Marin Headlands.
Rodeo
Wild ginger
Asarum caudatum
Paul's garden
Harvest Brodiaea
Brodiaea elegans
A good way to tell the difference between Triteleia laxa & Harvest Brodiaea is, with
Harvest Brodiaea), the flowers tend to open one at a time
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=5256&one=T
instead of an entire umbel open at once with Triteleia.
San Rafael Hill
Grasslands.
Golden Globelily
Calochortus amabilis
Short down-hanging yellow flowers.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=18818&one=T
Pope Valley
Found toward the ridgetops
Mariposa Lily
Calochortus luteus
Gold Nuggets, Yellow Mariposa Lily
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=5502&one=T
Pope Valley
Found on the middle slopes. Occasionaly you see one with a pastel yellow.
Blooms after Triteleia, more wideley spaced.
Tiburon Mariposa Lily
Calochortus tiburonensis
http://www.calacademy.org/research/botany/wildflow/names/202212.htm
Ring Mountain
Butterfly Mariposa Lily
Calochortus venustus
Variable colored flowers. I saw a slide show with this species shown from all over
the state & it was really a complicated story. Here's 45 pictures of the same
species,showing the variation in local strains, red, peach, pink white, yellow…
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?where-calrecnum=1313&special=calflora
San Rafael Hill
summer 2000 I've been watching what may be the last Butterfly Mariposa Lily on
San Rafael Hill. It just barely made any leaves this year & no flowers. These
pictures are from a few years ago
http://www.edgehill.net/SanRafael/plants/calochrt.jpg
Soap Plant
Chlorogalum pomeridianum
One of the first things to wake up at the first hint of rain in the fall along with polypody
fern. A crown of blue-gray sword leaves, really tough, dries out in summer to the
fleshy corm with a weedy looking stiff dry flower stalk that can be easily removed.
Sometimes shorter & wavy edges on leaves are prominent in shallow soils. Flowers
are white and lacy (they look like little white spiders) and the flowers only open in the
late afternoon into the evening. This little trick puts bees into a feeding frenzy when
they first open up. Like other lilies, soap plant seems to grow a good crop of
mycorrhizal fungus that is helpful to other plants grown among them on poor soils & in
drought. Chlorogalum is larger than probably any other native lily & grows so easily in
the worst soils.
Where they are established, they seem to survive weedy
infestations well, their long narrow leaves can survive in
annual grasses, road cuts and under forest duff. There is a serpentine seep on San
Rafael Hill that is badly blanketed with french & scotch broom with a dense healthy
understory of soap plant.
Edgehill existing
A few patches. Weed, protect, gather seed & replant a few bulbs.
Keator
Large fibrous coated bulbs that Native Americans used for soap. Basal rosettes
of attractive often wavy leaves late winter to spring
Las Pilitas Nursery
Bulb, 2' loose spike of small white flowers , May-Aug, southern Ore. to San
Diego, sun, drought tolerant, bulbs may be eaten when roasted.
Paul's garden
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.
Pope Valley
Common in the rockier spots.
San Rafael Hill
Blue Dicks
Dichelostemma capitatum
previously Brodiaea pulchella
The common name refers to the old fashioned pants that puff out like the individual
flowers, several in a cluster. The bulbs are edible (taste like extra buttery potatoes)
similar to Triteleia. This is just one of many delicious bulbs that Native Americans
cherished. They will rot if watered in the summer but can be watered through blooming
period till leaves yellow.
Edgehill existing
A couple of bulbs transplanted down on Paul's slope.
Las Pilitas Nursery
Corms, 1' in height, blue 1" flowers, spring, throughout CA, UT, NE, Ariz.,
tolerates most conditions with good drainage, little water after est. Butterfly
plant. One of the earlier wildflowers to emerge in the spring.
Paul's garden
Some bulbs from a CNPS sale & salvaged from San Rafael Hill
Pope Valley
Common but not in masses like Trieleia,. On lower slopes.
San Rafael Hill
Common
Wild Hyacinth
Dichelostemma multiflorum
Manyflower Brodiaea, Roundtooth Snakelily. Similar to Blue Dicks. The Photos at
CalFlora are blue or lavender:
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=5302&one=T
It grows throughout the Sierra & to Southern Oregon, then there is another patch from
San Francisco to Santa Clara counties. Uncommon.
Paul's garden
From a CNPS East Bay sale 10-'95, pale white/pinkish. Easy growing, vigorous.
Checker Lily
Fritillaria lanceolata
Mission Bells. Sort of like an earthy colored nodding tiger lily. In woods or if foggy, in
grasslands. Fritillaria biflora (similar):
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/8253_3202/3489/0078.jpeg
Also there is a rare species, Fritillaria liliacea in the Bay Area:
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/8253_3202/4138/0116.jpeg
Edgehill proposed
Collected seed from Twin Peaks 5-5-2000 LCR will grow them.
Paul's garden
Grew some seed from Big Sur… very slow.
Pope Valley
In the shade of chaparral.
San Rafael Hill
Along the pipeline trail.
Humbolt Lily
Lilium humboltii
More Drought tolerant than L. Parduii
Paul's garden
We have two species from CNPS sales.
Slink Pod
Scoliopus bigelovii
Slink Pod (Fetid Adder's Toungue) is an odd lily with burgundy blotches on it's broad
waxy tounge shaped leaves (like trillium) & intricately patterned red-green open star
shaped flowers on loose arching stems. Soft slinky seed pods form on these stems
which drape down to the soil & decay by the time the leaves are fully open, a few
weeks after sprouting, laying their seeds gently into the soil. The leaves remain through
the summer in shady fog blanketed oak & bay forests. The other (less complimentary)
common name is Fetid Adder's Tongue (smelly snakes tongue). The flower smells of
rotting flesh (only if you get up close -nothing to worry about) and presumably is
polinated by flies.
Saturday Jan 15, 2000 spring began. The soil was warm & moist & the robins were
chirping madly all day. My Scoliopus biglovii sprouted. I've been checking that patch
of ground regularly & suddenly there they were. From nothing to full bloom & shooting
leaves.
The Shooting Stars have also been pushing out leaves from bare ground recently. I can't
wait for them to put up flowers!
Rodeo
There is a vast patch of them. I wonder if they are so abundant there because
Caltrans dumps deer caracases nearby. I worry about the bobcat tracks & bones
nearby also... kinda spooky... in the dark winter forests...it gets dark so quickly…
Slim Solomon's Seal
Smilacina stellata
Woodland lily, good on slopes in masses.
S. racemosa is a larger, fragrant flowered species. Several species of birds and
mammals eat the berries of these species.
Edgehill proposed
Find a source to propagate (San Bruno Mountain?).
Paul's garden
Many from CNPS sales & by root division. Both species.
Rodeo
S. stellata in mass near the Scoliopus. There is only a single clump of S.
racemosa that I've found growing with Thimbleberry under Oaks.
Giant Wake Robin
Trillium chloropetalum
See this for a comparison of three local species:
http://www.plants.montara.com/ListPages/FamPages/Lilia4.html#trichl
http://www.edgehill.net/parsons/trillium.htm
Paul's garden
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.
Rodeo
These look exactly like the ones in my garden in flower color & size. There is
only one place I've found them & I'm now weeding to make sure they continue.
White Hyacinth
Triteleia hyacinthina
A small & delicate flower
http://www.calacademy.org/research/botany/wildflow/famfram.htm
Pope Valley
Ithuriel's Spear
Triteleia laxa
Wonderful grassland lily with a blue cluster of flowers.
Edgehill introduced
(12) 1 gal. pots planted on 12-1999 from LCR Nursery/Brooks Park
A dozen bulbs plus seeds from construction site at 19th & Sanchez on 12-1999
Nicole Salgado
Tim Hyland, Whitehouse Creek, San Mateo County: Brodiaea
terrestris............................... Dwarf Brodiaea
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=18824&one=T
Triteleia laxa............................... Wally Baskets
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=5280&one=T
Paul Furman wrote:
I've never heard that common name, do you know where it
comes from? I never really cared for the common name
Ithuriel's Spear. Wild Hyacinth has been used for Blue Dicks
Calflora also calls it Grassnut.
P.S. I just learned a good way to tell the difference
between Triteleia laxa & Harvest Brodiaea. With Harvest
Brodiaea (B. elegans), the flowers tend to open one at a
time
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=5256&one=T
instead of an entire umbel open at once with Triteleia.
Pope Valley
Enormous swaths on the hillsides & valleys, even in the weedy grasses.
San Rafael Hill
Grasslands
Star Lily
Zigadenus fremontii
Lily bulb. Fairly big white flowers with yellow centers, leaves similar but greener &
more shiny than Chlorogalum. Poisonous.
http://www.edgehill.net/parsons/zygadene.htm
Edgehill introduced
(12) 1 gal. pots planted on 12-1999 from LCR Nursery
Rodeo
Grows on the edge of brushy areas.
San Rafael Hill
Grows on the edge of woods or brush.
Flax Family
Linaceae
Narrowleaf Flax
Linum bienne
Pale Flax
Montara Mountain
Lovely rich blue. Not listed in "Flora of San Bruno Mountains"?
MALLOW FAMILY
Malveaceae
Fringed Checkermallow
Sidalcea diploscypha
Pink & looks like a clarkia with some fuzz in it & inconspicuous ferny palmate leaves.
5 petals with a central white sex organ. Annual.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=10512&one=T It looks much
different than the perennial Checkerbloom I'm accustomed to.
Pope Valley
Most plants had a white center in the flower but a few had a dark pink center.
Checker Bloom
Sidalcea malvaeflora
Pretty pink flowered perennial mallow. Leaf is deeply cut at the top & round at the
bottom. Good for coastal meadows, easy to grow.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/8120_3181/4902/0137.jpeg
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/8253_3202/4146/0065.jpeg
Edgehill introduced
(10) 4" pots planted on 12-1999 from LCR Nursery/Bayview
Wendy Winkler
Re: Russian Ridge (about 30 minutes up Page Mill Road from the intersection of
Page Mill Road and the 280 freeway in Palo Alto.) I've never seen so many
checkerblooms in one spot (right around Borel Hill), and the colorfields of tidy
tips, lupine, poppies, johnny jump-ups, and so forth were wonderful.
P.S. I'm going to keep encouraging the one checkerbloom I have in my garden.
They used to be very hard to find as seed or in a nursery. It's taken me a couple
of tries and a couple of years to get one established. It's a perennial. About 2
months ago, the deer chomped off all the leaves and I was so disappointed.
However, it recovered and is blooming even so. May it go forth and multiply
like its comrades at Borel Hill!
MYRTLE FAMILY
Myricaceae
Pacific Waxmyrtle
Myrica californica
Potentially a 30 foot tree.
Paul's garden
We use it as a hedge along the fenceline but fear it cannot be kept short.
Rodeo
Grows along the creek occasionally.
EVENING PRIMROSE FAMILY
Onagraceae
Red Ribbons
Clarkia concinna
Striking dissected pink/red flowers, a real show stopper.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/5207_1611/0748/0023.jpeg
Pope Valley
A couple patches near the summit at the edge of chaparral.
Winecup Clarkia
Clarkia purpurea
Farewell-to-spring, Fairyfan, Purple Godetia. Annual. Seeds form on a tall stalk
directly under the flower even before it's done blooming.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=12656&one=T
San Rafael Hill
verify species
Fireweed
Epilobium
Various native weeds.
Paul's garden
Common ffrom windblown seeds. Tiny red flowers look closed then long seed
pod forms below like a Clarkia.
Epilobium ciliatum, San Francisco Willow Herb perhaps?
http://members.aol.com/skkato1/WillowHb.html
http://www.stanford.edu/~rawlings/kengif/epil.htm
Pope Valley
Particularly small flower on an inconspicuous lanky plant. I wasn't sure if this is
the same as the very common branched herb (not yet blooming). Looks like the
following (Clarkia) picture.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=24040&one=T&where-anno=1
Hummingbird Bush
Epilobium cana
Zaucherina cana. Can be invasive. I've only seen them growing wild either directly on
rocks or steep road cuts. They are related to fireweed. What a treat in the fall!
Paul's garden
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,
Evening Primrose
Oenothera elata var. hookeri
Yellow flower with rosette of strap leaves. From moist swales/wetlands. Grows
vigorous.
Edgehill introduced
(10) 4" pots planted on 12-1999 from LCR Nursery/Lake Merced
(3) 4" pots planted on 2-2000 from CNPS/LCR Nursery
Performing well with big vigorous plants.
ORCHID FAMILY
Orchidaceae
Stream orchid
Epipactis gigantea
Giant Helleborine [Hrusa], Stream Orchis, Brook orchid, Chatterbox Orchid.
Paul's garden
Has been trouble free in a low spot that gets plenty of winter & spring moisture.
OXALIS FAMILY
Oxalidaceae
Redwood Sorrel
Oxalis oregana
