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Alum Root
Heuchera micrantha
- CA Bloom May - June
- Alum Root sends wispy stems two feet in the air, supporting dozens of tiny white or pink flowers.
- Leaves at the base of plant are shaped like mittens.
- Found in wet areas, often near moss.
- CA native
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Tiny flowers on leafless wispy stems about 2 feet tall.
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Leaves connect to the base of the plant on long stalks. They're fuzzy and roundish.
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Leaves form a thick basal cluster, with tiny flowers appearing to be suspended in air above them.
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American Brooklime
Veronica americana
- Height to 1 ft.
- CA Bloom Jul - Aug
- Blue or violet 4-petaled flowers
- Opposite leaves
- Round stems
- Grows in fresh-water wetlands, such as stream banks
- Stem runs along the ground, up to 2 feet long.
- CA native
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Look for 4 petals and opposite leaves with a round stem. Green center guides in pollinators.
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4 pale-blue petals with 4 green sepals behind them.
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Opposite leaves up to 3 inches long. Flowers in groups at the end of stalks.
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American Vetch
Vicia americana ssp. americana
- Height 1 - 2 ft.
- CA Bloom May - Jun
- Flowers with pink, violet and white parts.
- Tendrils, modified leaves, allow the plant to climb on others.
- The vine stem can grow to 4 feet long, but the plant is generally under 2 feet tall.
- Alternate compound leaves.
- Widespread understory plant.
- CA native
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Small but bright flowers
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Lots of small compound leaflets.
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Long thin leaves and purple flowers make this a vetch.
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American Wild Mint
Mentha arvensis
CA Bloom Mar - May
Pink, violet, white flower
Four, irreg, irreg, irreg petals
Opposite, simple leaves
CA native
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Angled Stem Buckwheat
Eriogonum angulosum
CA Bloom Jan - Dec
Brown, pink, red, white flower
Six petals
Alternate, whorled leaves
CA native
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Annual Beard Grass
Polypogon monspeliensis
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Annual Beard Grass is topped by large, fluffy spikes. They're framed by flat, rough, green leaves to 8" long.
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Soft, dense spikelets are green until they mature. There are lots of spikelets in the spike, each producing 3 awns.
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Long awns let light through around the edge but the center is opaque.
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Annual Blue Grass
Poa annua
- Annual Bunch Grass 1-8"
- 3-6 florets per spikelet
- No awns
- CA Bloom Apr - May
- Poa is an ancient Greek word for "fodder".
- This sweet grass is grazed by farm animals.
- Seeds are distributed 8 months a year.
- Not CA native
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Bright green or yellow-green leaves are soft, generally flat and come to a blunt point at the tips.
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Like all Bluegrasses, the inflorescence is open and spikelets have no awns. Florets are membranous.
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Annual Blue Grass grows quickly in disturbed areas. Plants are small but have many leaves.
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Annual June Grass, Bristly Koeleria
Koeleria gerardii
CA Bloom Apr - Jul
Not CA native
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Annual Stinging Nettle
Urtica urens
- CA Bloom Jan - Apr
- Also called Dwarf Nettle, this plant grows to about 2 feet tall.
- Stinging nettles, in general, produce a stinging sensation when touched. However, EFlora says that this specie's sting is not very strong.
- Found in shady areas.
- Not CA native
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Leaves are hairy, dark green, have large teeth, and end in a point.
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Leaves are opposite. Veins make indentations in the leaves.
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Small green flowers look like little balls.
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Annual Yellow Sweetclover
Melilotus indicus
- Height to 2 ft.
- CA Bloom Apr - Oct
- Spikes of tiny yellow pea flowers.
- Leaves in threes like clovers, but serrated.
- Compound leaves stand away from the stem on petioles.
- Wide ranging across the world, common in many areas.
- Not CA native
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Yellow pea flowers in a thin spike.
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3-part leaf, with serrations. Each compound leaf stands apart from the stem on a petiole.
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A common sight by the side of the road, these yellow flowers are easy to spot.
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Arroyo Lupine
Lupinus succulentus
- Grows to 3 ft. on erect, sparsely hairy stems.
- CA Bloom Feb - May
- This annual flower produces 6" clusters of purple pea flowers.
- Wide-tipped leaflets grow on long (2-6") stalks.
- It is abundant in open or disturbed areas, and is often seeded on road banks.
- CA native
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Look for radial leaflets that are wider near the tip. Their fleshy top feels rubbery.
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Here's a closeup of the flower. The yellow pistil is just sticking out of the right-hand keel. The left part is the banner.
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Stacks of whorled flowers have white banner spots that turn magenta with age.
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Arroyo Willow
Salix lasiolepis
- Height 7 - 35 ft.
- CA Bloom Feb - May
- This is the most common willow in California.
- It's deciduous and is found near water.
- Look for narrow leaves that are wider near the tip than at the base.
- CA native.
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Leaves are about 5 inches long, smooth-sided and narrow. They're pale/hairy underneath, and wider near the tip than near the base.
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Classic pussies with yellow stamens. The buds are fused together (not overlapping) before they open.
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This willow has many trunks, sometimes growing as a tree, and sometimes as a tangled shrub.
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Baby Blue Eyes
Nemophila menziesii var. menziesii
- CA Bloom Mar - Jun
- Distinctive with blue petals, white center and black dots in the center.
- Opposite leaves are lobed, especially near the base.
- Found in grasslands and woodland.
- CA native
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Pale blue to dark blue petals.
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Five separate blue petals with a white center, usually with black dots.
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Grows a couple of inches above the ground, with opposite, lobed leaves.
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Baltic Rush
Juncus balticus ssp. ater
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Flowers cluster at the top of the stem, with a stem-like bract extending above.
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This closeup shows brown tepals, yellow anthers on short filaments, and pinkish stigmas over a superior ovary.
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Found near streams and other moist locations.
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Barnyard Grass
Echinochloa crus-galli
CA Bloom Jul - Oct
Not CA native
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Beaked Cryptantha
Cryptantha flaccida
- Height 6 in. - 2 ft.
- CA Bloom Mar - May
- This tiny annual has a green stem covered in flat, aligned hairs.
- It's found on dry, open slopes and flats.
- CA native
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This small annual flower has several spikes of tiny flowers at the top of the stem.
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Flowers have 5 white petals around a central cavity that contains a nutlet.
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The petals and nutlet are protected by green, hairy bracts.
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Bearded Sprangletop
Leptochloa fusca ssp. fascicularis
CA Bloom Jun - Oct
CA native
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Beardless Wild Rye
Elymus triticoides
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This rye has 2-ranked spikelets that connect directly to the stem. There is space between each alternating spikelet.
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Hollow stems (like straws) connect at solid joints. Leaves are about 1/4" wide and a foot long.
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Prominent blue-green leaves are 4-12" long and grow away from the stem. Found in moist habitats with heavy soils.
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Bee Plant
Scrophularia californica
- Height 2 - 4 ft.
- CA Bloom Feb - May
- Bee plant is tall, with prominent triangular leaves and tiny brownish-red flowers.
- Small flowers are less than 1/2" across and have a nectar disk to reward pollinating bees.
- Opposite leaves have stalks that connect to the stem.
- Found in moist places below 8,000 feet.
- CA native
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This view of the flower from below shows two rounded petals on top, two side petals, and one folded out like a tongue.
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A square stem supports large, opposite, toothed leaves. This might make you think "Mint" but it's not.
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Bee Plant grows several feet high with opposite, narrow leaves sticking straight out. Flowers are on horizontal stalks near the top.
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Ben Lomond Buckwheat
Eriogonum nudum var. decurrens
CA Bloom Jun - Oct
Pink, white, yellow flower
Six petals
Basal leaves
Coastal
CA native Endangered (CNPS 1B)
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Bentgrass
Agrostis exarata
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Spikelets form a dense, slender column with short stalks. At maturity, the column opens up a bit. Awns are so short you may not notice them.
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Leaf blades are about 1/4" wide and 6" long. The ligule is prominent, membranous and not hairy.
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Leaves mostly ascend from the base of the plant. A long, narrow inflorescence rises above them, turning purple and then brown late in the season.
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Bermuda Grass
Cynodon dactylon
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Spikelets are tiny (<1/10") and purple. Tight colonies of plants are connected by rhizomes and stolons.
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Two rows of spikelets connect to one side of finger-like branches that all join at the top of the stem.
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The ligule is white and hairy. Leaf blades are short, flat and fleshy.
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Big Berry Manzanita
Arctostaphylos glauca
- Height 3 - 26 ft.
- CA Bloom Jan - Feb
- Taller than many manzanitas, the large red-brown trunks and branches are beautiful.
- Bunches of white or pink urn-shaped flowers hang down.
- Alternate leaves on short stalks stand erect from the stem.
- Found in chaparral and woodland slopes.
- CA native
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Grows to 20 feet tall, with smooth red-brown bark.
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White urn-shaped flowers hang in bunches. Leaves have a waxy coating.
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Berries are sticky, with an oval shape. Leaves are gray-green and somewhat stiff.
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Big Squirrel Tail Grass
Elymus multisetus
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Dense inflorescences with long, purplish awns resemble squirrel tails, especially when they mature.
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Here's a closeup of a squirrel tail. It's crowded with spikelets, each producing 8-22 awns!
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Leaves are narrow and long. Found in open, sandy or rocky areas.
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Bigelow's Moss Fern
Selaginella bigelovii
Fern
CA native
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Big-Leaf Maple
Acer macrophyllum
- Height 50 - 100 ft.
- CA Bloom Apr - May
- You'll probably notice the maple leaves first; they're large and grow opposite each other.
- Leaves are green in the summer, yellow in the fall, and absent in the winter.
- In spring, small greenish-yellow flowers hang in clusters below newly emerging leaves.
- Big Leaf Maples do well near water and in dappled shade.
- CA native
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Leaves are quite large, up to 12" wide, with deep indents. No other maple in the U.S. has leaves this big.
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Flower clusters droop from emerging leaves.
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Two winged fruits grow side by side, creating a helicopter-like lift when they're blown away on the wind.
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Birch Leaf Mountain Mahogany
Cercocarpus betuloides var. betuloides
- CA Bloom Mar - May
- Lots of small white flowers in clusters, with a mild scent.
- Five petals
- Alternate leaves are smooth at the base and toothed above, with distinct veins.
- CA native
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Leaves have smooth edges near the base, but become toothed about half way up. Rounded tips.
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Fruit shaped like a fuzzy twisted tail.
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Shrub grows 3 to 20 feet tall, on dry slopes.
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Bird Vetch
Vicia cracca
CA Bloom May - Jun
Blue, violet flower
Pea petals
Alternate leaves
Not CA native
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Bird's Eye Speedwell
Veronica persica
- Height 4 in. - 1 ft.
- CA Bloom Feb - May
- This is a small, beautifully marked wildflower.
- Leaves are opposite and small, often with serrated edges.
- It's found in disturbed areas, often near agriculture.
- Not CA native
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The small (1/4"), 4-petaled flower has darker blue, radiant stripes. Notice how the petal sizes vary. 2 purple-tipped stamens and a green tinged center invite pollinators to visit.
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Leaves are opposite. Flowers cluster at the top of the stem. The plant is often recumbent, lying along the ground.
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This beautiful plant is easy to overlook because of its small size, but a pleasure to find.
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Bird's Eyes
Gilia tricolor
CA Bloom Apr - Aug
Pink, violet, white flower
Five petals
Alternate leaves
Slopes
CA native
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Bird's Eyes(1)
Gilia tricolor ssp. diffusa
CA Bloom Jun - Aug
Pink, violet, white flower
Five petals
Alternate leaves
CA native
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Bird's Eyes(2)
Gilia tricolor ssp. tricolor
CA Bloom Jun - Aug
Pink, violet, white flower
Five petals
Alternate leaves
CA native
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Bird's Foot Fern
Pellaea mucronata var. mucronata
- Grow near rocks on hot dry slopes.
- Frond leaves curl over.. with smooth edges, pointed at the end.
- Often full of small spores underneath.
- CA native
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Grows on hot, exposed rocks and rocky slopes.
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Individual leaves are separated.
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Leaves curl under, protecting spores.
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Bird's Foot Lotus
Acmispon brachycarpus
- Height 6 in. - 1 ft.
- CA Bloom Mar - Jun
- Yellow flower
- Pea petals
- Alternate leaves
- CA native
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Bitter Cherry
Prunus emarginata
- CA Bloom Apr - May
- White 5-petaled flowers about 1/2" across smell nice.
- Leaves yellow-green with tightly-spaced veins.
- A shrub to medium-sized tree.
- Canyons, slopes, ridges, open woods in nutrient-rich soil.
- CA native
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3-10 small flowers per cluster, 5 separate petals, long stamens.
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Leaves to 3 inches long with bumpy edges. Red cherries, each with its own stalk.
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Bitter Cherry forms thickets on sunny hillsides.
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Black Mustard
Brassica nigra
CA Bloom Apr - Jul
Yellow flower
Four petals
Alternate leaves
Not CA native Moderately Invasive
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Black Oak
Quercus kelloggii
- CA Bloom May - Jun
- This majestic tree is a keystone species, providing habitat and food to many animals.
- Black Oak is the only deciduous California oak with bristle-tipped lobes.
- CA native
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Deciduous leaves have pointy lobes with bristles at their tips. They're darker on top than on the bottom.
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In spring, early leaves are red and velvety. Catkins of male flowers hang from leaf axils, getting ready to disperse pollen on the wind.
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A stout trunk supports many heavy, ascending branches. Branches decay and hollow out, providing den and nesting sites.
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Blow Wives
Achyrachaena mollis
- Height 2 in. - 2 ft.
- CA Bloom Apr - May
- This eye-catching bright-white flower is not a flower at all. As you look closer, you'll see that the "petals" are actually the flat scales of a seed head.
- A California endemic, this plant grows natively nowhere else in the world.
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Here is the classic Blow Wives look. Flat, scaly pappus forms a wind parachute for each seed.
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Yellow or orange ray florets point straight up. Inside them, many disc florets grow without petal-like rays.
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Leaves are narrow and grow up to 6" long. They're erect and fuzzy.
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Blue Elderberry
Sambucus mexicana
- CA Bloom Mar - Jul
- A large shrub with clusters of white flowers, plus compound leaves indicate an Elderberry.
- Berries are black but appear blue because of a waxy covering.
- Grey bark with vertical furrows.
- Common on stream banks and open places in forests.
- CA native
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White flat-topped clusters of flowers are easy to spot.
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Berries with a waxy covering makes them look powdery.
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Compound leaves with 5 - 9 toothed leaflets.
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Blue Fescue
Festuca idahoensis
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Found in dry, open or shady places, Blue Fescue may appear bluer than plants around it.
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Spikelets are about 1/2" long. There's enough room between spikelets to see wavy branches.
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Spikelets are flattish, with 2-ranked florets. They're held close to the stem until mature. Awns are thread-like.
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Blue Fiesta Flower
Pholistoma auritum var. auritum
- CA Bloom Mar - May
This vine is covered with recurved stiff hairs that stick to passersby. The stem breaks easily.
- Leaves are opposite near the base and alternate higher up the vine.
- It's common in coastal and Sierra foothills, primarily south of the Bay Area.
- CA native
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This bright flower is about 1" across, with a pale ring around a dark throat.
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Sepals are pointed and hairy, alternating bent forward and backward.
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Leaf stalks have wings on their sides and wrap around the stem. Leaves are long with lots of narrow lobes that stick out sideways.
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Blue Gum
Eucalyptus globulus
- Height to 200 ft.
- CA Bloom Oct - Mar
- Flower nestled between stem and leaf.
- Leaves long, thin and dark green.
- Common, found in disturbed areas.
- Not CA native
- Somewhat Invasive
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Flower has many white stamens surrounding a central knob, and smells of honey.
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Mature leaves are narrow and curved, growing to a foot long. Woody fruits with 5 notches, grow to 1 inch across.
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Heavy trunks with bark that peals in large strips.
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Blue Oak
Quercus douglasii
- Height 20 - 65 ft.
- CA Bloom Mar - May
- Blue-green leaves with wavy edges, plus corn flake bark, are quick way to identify this oak.
- Leaves are relatively small and sparse, allowing it to tolerate more sun and dryer places than other California deciduous oaks.
- CA native. Found only in California.
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Leathery blue-green leaves often have shallow lobes. They have a short petiole (stalk) and are generally 2 - 3 inches long.
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Bark is pale and checkered by medium-size cracks. It reminds me of corn flakes.
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This moderately sized oak has a heavy trunk and branches. It's common in dry, hot places that have some water.
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Blue Wild Rye
Elymus glaucus ssp. glaucus
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This grass can grow to 5 feet tall and has a tight spike of spikelets at the top of the stem.
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Rye spikelets grow tight to the stem, about 1/4" apart, making a woven pattern. 2-4 straight awns come out of each spikelet.
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Leaves are fairly wide, flat, soft, and blue-green. The blade has tiny "ears" (auricles) that wrap around the stem.
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Blue Witch
Solanum umbelliferum
- CA Bloom Jan - Jun
- Look for a pentagon-shaped flower with a bright yellow center.
- Branches and leaves are quite hairy.
- Green fruits turn purple when ripe.
- This distinctive shrub is widespread in chaparral and oak woodlands.
- CA native
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Blue Witch flowers are lavender or blue, pentagon-shaped, and have a yellow center.
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Leaves are hairy and smooth edged. Flowers sport green spots at the base of their petals.
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Blue Witch is a small shrub that grows to 3 feet. Every part of it is poisonous to eat.
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Blue-Eyed Grass
Sisyrinchium bellum
- Height 1 - 2 ft.
- CA Bloom Mar - May
- This is not a grass but an iris.
- At the top of each stem are violet flowers with darker purple lines leading to a yellow center.
- It's common in open, usually moist areas.
- CA native. Endemic to the California Floristic Province.
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Beautiful 1/2" wide flowers have blue to violet petals and a golden yellow center to guide pollinators in.
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Leaves are grass-like, narrow with parallel veins.
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The ovary is below the flower and, if pollinated, develops into a capsule-like fruit.
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Bowlesia
Bowlesia incana
CA Bloom Mar - Apr
Green, white flower
Five petals
Opposite leaves
Slopes
CA native
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Bracken Fern
Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens
- Bracken Fern's overall shape is a large triangle, which is easy to spot.
- It's green in the spring and brown in the fall and winter.
- It grows to four feet tall.
- Widespread and common, it's found in shaded forest and on open hillsides.
- CA native
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Bracken Fern frond segments are long at the base and quite short near the top, creating an overall triangle shape.
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Segments have regular rounded lobes. The similar Sword Fern has a "thumb" near its midrib.
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New growth forms in a fiddlehead, and then opens up.
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Bracted Allocarya
Plagiobothrys bracteatus
CA Bloom Apr - May
White flower
Five petals
Alternate, basal leaves
CA native
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Brass Buttons
Cotula coronopifolia
CA Bloom May - Oct
Green, yellow flower
Tiny petals
Alternate leaves
Not CA native Somewhat Invasive
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Brewer's Phacelia
Phacelia breweri
CA Bloom Mar - Jun
Blue, violet flower
Five petals
Alternate, basal leaves
CA native
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Brewer's Ragwort
Packera breweri
CA Bloom Apr - May
Yellow flower
Many petals
Alternate, basal leaves
Slopes
CA native
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Brewer's Rockcress
Boechera breweri ssp. breweri
CA Bloom Feb - May
Violet flower
Four petals
Alternate, basal leaves
CA native
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Bristly Goldenaster
Heterotheca sessiliflora ssp. echioides
- CA Bloom Mar - Dec
- 10 to 30 inches tall.
- This is a late-summer blooming plant that thrives in California and Northern Mexico.
- It has two kinds of hairs that protect it from browsers and create a strong smell when touched.
- It's common in open areas in chaparral and grassland.
- CA native
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Here's a yellow-on-yellow aster with a dozen or so petal-like ray flowers and many tiny central disk flowers.
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Several layers of narrow, green phyllaries surround the flower head. All green parts are quite hairy.
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Bright yellow flower heads turn brown with pappus after pollination. Older leaves turn grey as their hairs become bristly.
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Bristly Ox-Tongue
Helminthotheca echioides
- Height to 7 ft.
- CA Bloom Jun - Dec
- A tall dandelion-like flower, covered in bristles.
- Leaves have large bumps on them.
- Lots of seed in the fall - you'll see it blowing in the air.
- Not CA native.
- Somewhat Invasive
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Leaves have stiff bristles and bumps, giving it its name. Dandelion-like flowers top each branch.
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Dandelion-like flowers are surrounded by distinctive, triangular, upward pointing, bristly green bracts.
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Plants are tall, with many branches.
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Broad Leaf Filaree
Erodium botrys
- CA Bloom Feb - May
- Many wild geraniums share this flower's lavender color.
- Leaves are hairy and fairly wide.
- Fruit beaks grow over 4 inches long!
- Common in clay or gravel soil.
- Not CA native.
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Small flowers have five overlapping lavender petals, purple radiating lines, and yellow center.
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Wide leaves have a strong central vein. Edges have rounded lobes of varying sizes.
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Fruits are topped with a pointed beak up to 4" tall!
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Broad Leaf Lupine
Lupinus latifolius var. latifolius
- This perennial has an erect stem up to 4 feet tall.
- CA Bloom Apr - May
- Blue and purple flowers have a white banner spot that ages to magenta.
- Found in dry rocky areas, this plant needs some shade and seasonal moisture.
- CA native
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The inflorescence can get really tall - up to 2 feet long. Flowers have an open arrangement.
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Broad Leaf Lupine has broad leaves. They feel rubbery on top and slick underneath.
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Leaves (up to 4" for each finger on stalks up to 8" long) dwarf the individual 1/2" flowers.
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Broad Toothed Monkeyflower
Erythranthe latidens
CA Bloom Apr - Jun
Pink, white flower
Five petals
Opposite leaves
CA native
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Brome Fescue
Festuca bromoides
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Brome Fescue is a short grass with small spikelets that turn a straw-like color as they age. Fescue is Latin for "straw".
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Each floret produces an awn about the length of the rest of the spikelet.
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The inflorescence is densely populated with spikelets on short stalks. Spikelets and awns point sideways as they mature, giving a tangled appearance.
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Brown Headed Rush
Juncus phaeocephalus var. phaeocephalus
- Perennial Rush 4-20"
- Stem cross section is flat
- No awns
- CA Bloom Apr - Jun
- This variety has a few, many-flowered heads. Other varieties have more heads.
- Found in wet meadows, dune hollows and marsh edges near the coast.
- CA native
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These rushes grow closely together on wet ground. Dark brown or purple flower heads grow near the top of flattened stems.
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Flower heads have many dark-brown six-part flowers. Anthers (white) and stigmas (pink) stick out beyond the flowers to aid wind pollination.
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Leaves are flat and have ribs that grow part-way across them. They have pointed tips.
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