List

Jepson and Johnstone Trail

(200 plants)

This list covers the Jepson and Johnson Trail loops at Tomales State Park.

Thanks to the Marin Chapter of the California Native Plant Society for this list.


Alum Root Heuchera micrantha CA Bloom May - June Erect, airy spikes of tiny white or pink flowers rise up from a bed of wide, green leaves. Tiny flowers have 5 separate petals and 5 long stamens. Alum Root does well in damp, shady areas. CA native	Alum root sends wispy stems in the air, supporting dozens of tiny flowers.	Fuzzy leaves are mitten-shaped. They connect to the base of the plant on long stalks.	Leaves form a thick basal cluster.
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	Look for 4 petals and opposite leaves with a round stem. Green center guides in pollinators.	4 pale-blue petals with 4 green sepals behind them.	Opposite leaves up to 3 inches long. Flowers in groups at the end of stalks.
Annual Beard Grass Polypogon monspeliensis Annual Single-Stem Grass 8"-3 ft. Inflorescence a spike to 7" 1 floret per spikelet Floret awns to 0.2" Glume awns to 0.4" CA Bloom May - Jun Found in wetlands and disturbed areas. Not CA native Somewhat Invasive	Annual Beard Grass is topped by large, fluffy spikes. They're framed by flat, rough, green leaves to 8" long.	Soft, dense spikelets are green until they mature. There are lots of spikelets in the spike, each producing 3 awns.	Long awns let light through around the edge but the center is opaque.
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	Bright green or yellow-green leaves are soft, generally flat and come to a blunt point at the tips.	Like all Bluegrasses, the inflorescence is open and spikelets have no awns. Florets are membranous.	Annual Blue Grass grows quickly in disturbed areas. Plants are small but have many leaves.
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.	Leaves are about 5 inches long, smooth-sided and narrow. They're pale/hairy underneath, and wider near the tip than near the base.	Classic pussies with yellow stamens. The buds are fused together (not overlapping) before they open.	This willow has many trunks, sometimes growing as a tree, and sometimes as a tangled shrub.
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	This view of the flower from below shows two rounded petals on top, two side petals, and one folded out like a tongue.	A square stem supports large, opposite, toothed leaves. This might make you think "Mint" but it's not.	Bee Plant grows several feet high with opposite, narrow leaves sticking straight out. Flowers are on horizontal stalks near the top.
Big-Leaf Maple Acer macrophyllum Height 50 - 100 ft. CA Bloom Apr - May These trees are famous for their leaves - very large and growing opposite each other. Leaves are green in the summer, yellow in the fall, and absent in the winter. Look for beautiful, fragrant clusters of hanging flowers in the spring. Big-Leaf Maples do well near water and in dappled shade. CA native	Leaves are quite large, up to 12" wide, with deep indents. No other maple in the U.S. has leaves this big.	Flower clusters droop from emerging leaves.	Two-winged fruits twirl like a helicopter when they're blown away on the wind.
Bishop Pine Pinus muricata CA Bloom Apr - May 5-inch needles in 2's (like a Bishop holding up the peace sign). Monterey Pine, which looks similar, has needles in 3's. Cones tend to stay closed until intense heat, such as in a fire. Found mostly in coastal California. Grows to 80 feet, but often smaller in windswept coastal areas. CA native	Cones cluster together and can stay closed for years. Similar to Monterey Pine, but with bunches of 2 needles.	Rough ridged bark. Branches often large.	All trees here are Bishop Pine. Wide-branching crowns are sometimes windswept.
Blueblossom Ceanothus thyrsiflorus CA Bloom Mar - May This shrub is covered with evergreen leaves and produces prodigious display of sweet-smelling flowers. Look for grooves running the length of the stem. It comes in a variety of sizes, up to 30 feet tall. Does well on poor soil. Found in a wide variety of settings. CA native	Hundreds of sweet-smelling tiny flowers form lavender balls of color accented with white or yellow.	Leaves have 3 parallel veins. The underside is dull, but the top is a shiny dark green.	Blueblossom is full of flowers when it blooms, March to May.
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.	Beautiful 1/2" wide flowers have blue to violet petals and a golden yellow center to guide pollinators in.	Leaves are grass-like, narrow with parallel veins.	The ovary is below the flower and, if pollinated, develops into a capsule-like fruit.
Boreal Starwort Stellaria borealis ssp. sitchana CA Bloom May - Sep White flower Five petals Opposite leaves CA native
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	Bracken Fern frond segments are long at the base and quite short near the top, creating an overall triangle shape.	Segments have regular rounded lobes. The similar Sword Fern has a "thumb" near its midrib.	New growth forms in a fiddlehead, and then opens up.
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	Leaves have stiff bristles and bumps, giving it its name. Dandelion-like flowers top each branch.	Dandelion-like flowers are surrounded by distinctive, triangular, upward pointing, bristly green bracts.	Plants are tall, with many branches.
Bull Thistle Cirsium vulgare CA Bloom June - Sept This thistle has spiny everything. A pear-shaped spiny base supports a 2-inch-tall purple flower. Dead flowers with many spines stay on the plant for a long time. Bull Thistle is common in disturbed areas. Not CA native. Moderately Invasive	A fairly thin pear-shaped spiny bulge below flower is a good way to distinguish this species.	Bull Thistle has big spines all the way up the stem, on the leaves, and around the flower.	Here is a basal rosette of thick, toothed leaves.
Bulrush Scirpus microcarpus CA Bloom May - Jun CA native
California Aster Corethrogyne filaginifolia CA Bloom Jun - Oct Pink, violet, white flower Many petals Alternate leaves Dunes coastal CA native
California Aster (1) Symphyotrichum chilense CA Bloom Jul - Aug Blue, pink, violet, white flower Many petals Alternate leaves CA native
California Bay Laurel Umbellularia californica CA Bloom Nov - May Height to 60 feet. The foliage of this classic California tree smells like bay leaves. Clusters of small flowers grow at the end of branches where new leaves emerge. Flowers turn into a plump 1 inch fruit resembling avocados, to which the tree is related. CA Native - endemic to the California Floristic Province.	Leaves are fairly narrow, with a central vein and smooth edges, ending in a point. They have a leathery feel, and a spicy smell when crushed.	Green fruit turns purple when mature. Leathery skin covers oily flesh that surrounds a pit (similar to avocado).	Bay Laurels can grow to be substantial trees, thickly covered with their spicy-smelling leaves.
California Bedstraw Galium californicum CA Bloom Mar - Sep Yellow flower Four petals Whorled leaves CA native
California Blackberry Rubus ursinus Height 3 - 6 ft. CA Bloom Feb - May This shrub forms an impenetrable thicket of branches, full of narrow prickles. You'll notice bright white flowers with many stamens. Found in canyons, coastal stream banks and disturbed areas CA native	Separate petals, with green leafy sepals in between. This male flower has many stamens.	Prickles are short, narrow, and plentiful. Himalayan Blackberry has wider, longer, and less densely-packed prickles.	Red fruit turns black with maturity. Leaves in 3s, coarsely toothed, are hairy and have spines. Veins are indented on the leaves.
California Bottlebrush Grass Elymus californicus Perennial 3-7 ft. Inflorescence a spike 4-12" 2-5 florets per spikelet Floret awns to 1.3" CA Bloom May - Aug This native grass grows in only a few counties around San Francisco. You'll find it near streams in conifer forests. CA native Uncommon (CNPS 4)	This bottlebrush grass bends near the top when flowers become heavy at maturity.	Flowers stick out sideways from the stem, and have long awns, creating a bottlebrush look.	This herbarium sample shows occasional wide leaves and a tall stem.
California Buckeye Aesculus californica Height 12 - 40 ft. CA Bloom May - Jul Buckeye trees are conspicuous from afar; pale green leaves in early spring, full of flowers in early summer, and bare-branched well before other trees lose their leaves in the fall. Each aromatic flower has 4 pink or white petals and long stamens. The fruit resembles a buck's eye - brown and about 2 inches across. CA native	Buckeye trees become covered with columns of sweet-smelling flowers.	5-part compound leaves are palmate (shaped like a hand). Leaf edges are finely-toothed and bud in early February.	Trees in the open form a dome shape, often growing 40 feet tall and 40 feet wide. They can live 250 years.
California Burclover Medicago polymorpha CA Bloom Feb - Jun This is not a true clover but rather a close relative of Alfalfa, in the Medicago genus. Look for slender-toothed stipules that encircle the stem where stalks meet it. Not CA native Somewhat Invasive	3 or 4 yellow pea flowers cluster at the end of a long stalk. Leaflets have serrated edges.	Burclover tends to run along the ground. The 3 clover-like leaflets are separate from one another. Flowers, fruits and leaves are on stalks.	Pollinated ovules enlarge into tightly coiled pea pods with burs that stick out. The burs catch on passing animals, distributing the seeds to new areas.
California Buttercup Ranunculus californicus Height 6 in. - 2 ft. CA Bloom Feb - May This bright yellow flower is 1" across, with 7 to 22 shiny petals. Buttercups flower in early spring, and die back (including the leaves) in the summer. Found on coastal bluffs, grassland, woodland and moist meadows. CA native	The buttercup looks like butter, with 7 to 22 elliptic, overlapping, shiny yellow petals.	Each buttercup flower gets its own stalk. The center is a half sphere of packed green pistils, surrounded by dozens of yellow stamens.	Long-stalked basal leaves have 3 deeply- lobed leaflets. Leaves on the flower stems have narrow divisions.
California Cudweed Pseudognaphalium californicum Height 1 - 4 ft. CA Bloom Jan - Jul Flower heads are tiny (about 1/4" across). Alternate leaves are gray-green, woolly and aromatic. Found on dry slopes and coastal chaparral. CA native. Endemic to the California Floristic Province.	Each tiny pineapple-shaped flower head is wrapped in white papery phyllaries and contains over 100 minute yellow flowers.	Leaves are narrow and pointed, growing to 4 inches long. They're smaller higher on the stem.	Branching stems grow erect, each topped with whitish flower heads.
California Fescue Festuca californica Perennial Bunch Grass 18"-4 ft. Inflorescence branched 4-11" Floret awns to 0.1" CA Bloom Feb - Apr This is a classic California bunch grass, with a nodding cluster of spikelets hanging down over graceful, arching leaves. Different from most fescues, the leaf collar is generally quite hairy. CA native	This tufted grass has arching, narrow, folded, gray-green leaves to 3 feet long. Mature spikelets hang down on long stalks.	The inflorescence is branched and open. Spikelets contain 4-6 florets and have short awns.	California Fescue is widespread, gracing hills, open forests and streambanks. It turns straw color in the fall (Festuca is Latin for "straw").
California Goldenrod Solidago velutina ssp. californica CA Bloom Jul - Oct Yellow flower Many petals Alternate leaves CA native
California Hazelnut Corylus cornuta ssp. californica CA Bloom Jan - Mar This shrub has open branching, and grows to 10 feet. Leaves are soft, alternate, and deeply veined. The stem changes direction at each leaf node. Found on stream banks and slopes CA native	Soft fuzzy leaves have toothed edges. Veins are indented. Leaves fall off in the winter.	The flower matures to a hazelnut, protected by a hard shell and fuzzy sheath.	Male catkins form in the fall and last until spring.
California Honeysuckle Lonicera hispidula CA Bloom Apr - Jul This is a woody vine that can climb 30 feet into trees. You'll notice them hanging down from branches. Vines end in pink trumpet flowers whose lips fold back to reveal long stamens. Common in canyons, stream sides and woodlands, especially near the coast. CA native. Endemic to the California Floristic Province.	Vines end in pink flowers, full of nectar (thus, Honeysuckle). Hummingbird and bees pollinate the flowers in their search for the nectar.	Pollinated flowers turn into bright-red translucent berries.	Leaves near the flower wrap around the stem. Leaves further down are opposite.
California Wild Rose Rosa californica CA Bloom May - Aug This shrub grows in thickets to 6 feet tall, with large, recurved prickles. Pink flowers, up to 2" across, open up flat at the end of branches. The fruit is a rose hip with leafy material coming out the top. It's common and widespread, especially in moist areas. Similar plants. CA native. Native only to the California Floristic Province.	This fragrant rose flower has a single layer of five floppy petals. They surround dozens of yellow-tipped stamens.	Compound leaves have 5 to 7 leaflets. Each pollinated flower creates one red rose hip, with left-over flower sepals protruding from the end.	Prickles grow out from the stem; large, flat and often curved.
Canarygrass Phalaris californica Perennial Bunch Grass 20"-5 ft. Inflorescence a spike 1-2" No awns CA Bloom Apr - Jun Found in moist areas in coastal open fields, disturbed areas and meadows. More on Phalaris CA native	Spikes at the top of stems are short and wide. Leaves are large, up to 1" wide and 20" long.	Spikelets are hairy and have a single fertile floret. They're tinged with purple as they mature.	This is a pretty tall grass with a short inflorescence. Look for wide, pointed leaves.
Canyon Gooseberry Ribes menziesii CA Bloom Jan - Apr Gooseberries and Currants are small shrubs with beautiful flowers and berries. Canyon Gooseberry grows about 6 feet tall, with moderately-spaced thin stems full of prickles. Beautiful hanging flowers develop into purple gooseberries. CA Native	Leaves are hairy and soft, and remind me of small (less than 2" across) maple leaves.	The flower has purple sepals that fold backwards, short white petals that hang down, and stamens that stick out the bottom.	Thin prickles along the stem make this a Gooseberry. Currants look similar but don't have prickles.
Cat Tail Typha latifolia Height 5 - 10 ft. CA Bloom May - Jun Leaves are stiff and grow about 1" wide. This cattail is found in salt and freshwater marshes and can grow in 2 feet of water. Compare to other Cattails CA native	Male flowers form a narrow, tan spike at the top of the stem. Female flowers form a wider, brown spike. The spikes are close to each other.	Seeds are borne on the wind, as with dandelions.	Cattails grow to 10 feet high, always in or near water. Leaves are about 1"
Chain Fern Woodwardia fimbriata Chain Fern is easy to recognize. You'll always find it near (or in) water and it's huge. Fronds are flat, 20 inches wide and grow over 6 feet long. The underside often shows chains of large reproductive sori in two rows. Found near streams or seeps. CA native.	Fronds are flat and smooth-edged, and form a regular geometrical pattern. They grow over 6 feet long.	If you turn the frond over you'll sometimes find long chains of tan sori, a velvety substance containing spores for the next generation.	Chain fern loves water and shade. It's bigger than most other ferns.
Chairmaker's Bulrush Schoenoplectus americanus Flower Coastal salt-marsh freshwater-marsh CA native
Checker Bloom Sidalcea malviflora CA Bloom May - Aug Flower petals pink, strongly veined, squared off at the end, 1/2" to 1" long each. A perennial flower, often with a woody base. Leaves vary greatly, with basal leaves fairly round and upper leaves deeply cut. Found in grasslands, woodlands and scrub to 7,500 feet. CA native	Five pink petals with radiating lines on each petal.	Basal leaves round and not deeply cut.	Deeply cut leaves.
Checker Lily Fritillaria affinis Height 1 - 3 ft. CA Bloom Mar - May Nodding brown and green flowers are about 2 inches across. They have a nice musky smell. Several whorls of leaves appear near the bottom of the stem. Common in woodlands and grasslands in the Pacific Northwest. CA native	Flowers have 6 brown or green tepals with mottled yellow and green areas. They hang upside down like bells from a drooping stalk.	Narrow leaves are whorled near the bottom, and then grow next to flower stalks near the top of the stem.	Leaves are parallel veined. The stem is erect and grows from a bulb.
Chickweed Stellaria media CA Bloom Feb - Sep This low-lying plant forms green mats with distinctive white flowers. Each petal is deeply divided, making a "mouse ears" effect. Opposite leaves have obvious veins. Found in disturbed areas in woodlands and meadows. Not CA native	5 deeply lobed white petals often look like 10. Green pointed sepals between the petals.	Opposite leaves are oval and come to a point.	Grows to a foot or so. Lies along the ground in dense mats.
Clustered Thistle Cirsium brevistylum Blooms Apr - July Moist areas, including coastal marshes Generally a single stem, growing to about 6 feet tall. Flower generally smaller than the flower base. Leaves long with many spines. CA native	Spiny leaves with a strong central vein.	White or pink flowers about 1" wide.	Flower base is quite a bit wider than the flower itself.
Coast Clover Trifolium wormskioldii CA Bloom May - Jun Flowers a round ball of pink-purple petals, often with white tips. 3 leaflets join at the tip of a stem. They're often serrated. Widespread, often growing low to the ground. CA native	Flowers are rounded, made up of many purple-pink petals, often with whitish tips.	This closeup shows many pea-shaped flowers in a cluster, to form the clover round shape.	Leaves in 3s (hence Trifolium)
Coast Hedge Nettle Stachys chamissonis CA Bloom May - Oct This is not Stinging Nettle. Although it has hairs, Coast Hedge Nettle doesn't sting. It smells like mint. Deep pink trumpet flowers have purple bases. Leaves are opposite, large, hairy and aromatic. It grows in hedges in wet, swampy areas. CA native	Dark-pink trumpet flowers connect along the stem. Notice their hairy purplish bases.	Leaves have indented veins and wavy edges, up to 7 inches long.	The stem is square in cross section, hairy, and erect to about 8 feet tall.
Coast Live Oak Quercus agrifolia var. agrifolia CA Bloom Feb - Mar Height to 40 feet. This beautiful tree has a thick trunk and heavy arching branches. Trunks are silver grey in color. These trees live near the coast, from Mendocino county to Baja California. CA native	When unrestricted, Live Oaks grow wide and tall, with a thick canopy of evergreen, leathery leaves.	Leaves often curl under and have spiny edges. Acorns grow at the end of twigs.	Male flowers are pale green. Female flowers are hard to find, inconspicuous at the base of new leaves.
Coast Or Bog Rush Juncus hesperius CA Bloom Jun - Aug CA native
Coast Sanicle Sanicula laciniata CA Bloom Feb - May Yellow flower Five, no petals Alternate, basal leaves CA native
Coast Sedge Carex obnupta CA Bloom Apr - May Coastal CA native
Coastal Burnweed Senecio minimus CA Bloom Jun - Sep Small yellow or purple aster flowers cover this attractive but invasive bush. Toothed leaves are narrow and up to 8 inches long. Found in disturbed coastal areas Not CA native	One plant can develop over 100 aster-like flowers, shown here in seed. Grows to 7 feet tall.	When flowers mature the fruit develops a pappus to help it float away in the wind.	When the fruits blow away you can see the white receptacles where they sat, and the brown phyllaries that used to protect the flowers.
Coastal Bush Lupine Lupinus arboreus Height 4 - 7 ft. CA Bloom Apr - May Most flowers are yellow, although some blue and violet varieties exist. Stems can be a hairless green, or covered in silvery hairs. Pea pods are hairy, brown or black. CA endemic - found primarily along the mid-California coast line.	Tall yellow columns of pea flowers rise high over dense green leaves.	Finger-like leaves are of medium length (1-2"), on short stalks. They have sparse, or no hairs.	Yellow sprays make this a prominent plant on coastal bluffs and dunes.
Coastal Wood Fern Dryopteris arguta Height 1 - 3 ft. Wood Fern fronds feel tough. Leaflets often have toothed, bristly tips. Fronds are widest at the base, each making a long triangular shape. Segments often turn slightly, so the overall frond is not flat. Found in well-drained woodlands, primarily along the coast. CA native	Fronds are widest at the base. Leathery segments often twist.	Underneath the leaflets you'll find horseshoe-shaped sori.	This evergreen fern grows year round, but will drop its leaves in drought conditions.
Coffeeberry Frangula californica CA Bloom Jun - Aug Yellow-green flowers in clusters at the base of leaves. Leaves are long and pointed, with small serrations on the edges. Stems are often red. Common in canyons and coastal slopes CA native	Clusters of tiny white or greenish flowers nestle among the leaves.	Leaves are long and pointed, sort of like a bay leaf but with small serrations at the edge.	Berries go through several colors and end up red or black.
Common Bedstraw Galium aparine Height to 3 ft. CA Bloom Apr - May 6 to 8 narrow leaves make whorls around the stem. Flowers are tiny, white and 4-petaled. This plant is covered with hooked hairs. CA native	Bedstraw has whorled leave and tiny white flowers. It is covered with hairs that stick to passers by.	Leaves are typically in groups of 6, wider at the end than at the stem.	Tiny, four-petal flowers form clusters above the whorls.
Common Dandelion Taraxacum officinale CA Bloom Feb - Mar Dandelion comes from the French phrase "dent de lion", which means lion's tooth - a reference to its jagged leaves. Each flowerhead gets a bare stalk, less than a foot tall. Not hairy. Disturbed areas. Not CA native	Here's the yellow dandelion head we all know. Below are green phyllaries that point downward.	Leaves have irregular, backwards-pointing lobes.	Brown fruits are attached to a white oval receptacle at one end and grow a white beak at the other end. The beak attaches to many bristles, forming a parachute that carries the seed when it's mature.
Common Groundsel Senecio vulgaris CA Bloom Jan - Dec Yellow flower Tiny petals Alternate leaves Disturbed Not CA native
Common name not found Acmispon americanus CA Bloom Apr - Jul White flower Pea petals Alternate leaves CA native
Common Nightshade Solanum americanum CA Bloom Mar - Nov A poisonous member of the tomato family. White 5-petaled flower with yellow center. Leaves are large and toothed, with long petioles (stalks). Found in disturbed areas CA native	White 5-petaled 1/2 inch wide flowers with yellow centers. Leaves and fruit look like a small tomato plant.	Large leaves on stalks over 1 inch long. Edges wavy or coarsely toothed.	Shiny black berries hang from leaf connections along the stem. Plant grows to 4 feet tall and is short-lived.
Common Pacific Pea Lathyrus vestitus var. vestitus CA Bloom Mar - May This common vine has showy pea flowers. Compound leaves end in tendrils that cling to other plants. It's widespread in California's coastal ranges. CA native. Endemic to the California Floristic Province.	Each pea flower has a pinkish-purple banner petal above a cluster of pale petals.	Leaves are compound, made up of 8 - 12 leaflets, and have tendrils at the end.	Tendrils wrap around other plants, pulling the vine up into the sun.
Common Threesquare Schoenoplectus pungens Flower CA native
Compass Plant Euphorbia lathyris CA Bloom Jun - Jul Brown, green flower Four petals Opposite leaves Disturbed Not CA native
Cow Parsnip Heracleum maximum CA Bloom Jun - Jul Flowers cluster in an umbrella shape ( umbel), from 6 to 10" across. Leaves are big - up to 12 inches across. Flowers turn to sunflower-like seeds in August Found in open moist places. CA native	White flowers form a cluster that looks like a flat-topped umbrella (called an umbel). Notice the odd-looking sheath at the base of the flower stalk.	Individual tiny flowers are grouped in tiny balls (a second umbel).	Stems are hollow on this 12-foot-tall plant. It is named Heracleum because of all its large parts.
Coyote Brush Baccharis pilularis ssp. consanguinea CA Bloom Oct - Jan Coyote Brush is a bushy shrub with many brittle, woody stems supporting hundreds of round-tipped 1" leaves. Male and female flowers grow on separate plants. Coyote Brush is widespread in California's climate but grows natively nowhere else in the world! CA native	Coyote Brush is a leafy, woody shrub. It's quite common in grasslands, shrublands and the edges of woodlands.	Leaves are distinctive - leathery, oval-shaped, and with triangular teeth along the margins.	In late fall and winter, female bushes become very conspicuous with their clusters of bristly white seedheads.
Creek Dogwood Cornus sericea ssp. sericea CA Bloom Mar - May Creek Dogwood creates a thicket of red stems near streams - especially visible in the winter when the leaves are off. Small 4-petaled white flowers grow in clusters, and turn into clusters of white berries in the fall. Found along streams. CA native	Clusters of 4-petaled flowers turn into white berries. Red stems stand out near creeks in the winter.	Leaves are deciduous, opposite, and smooth-edged. Their veins curve to parallel with the edge. Early leaves fold inward.	Red bark is quite visible in winter. Creek Dogwood grows to 12 feet tall.