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Aaron's Beard
Hypericum calycinum
- CA Bloom Jun - Jul
- Bright yellow flower with lots of tall stamens, like St. John's Wort.
- Opposite leaves with the undersides blue-green and showing a network of veins
- Handling this plant can cause a skin rash.
- A garden escapee.
- Not CA native
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Yellow flower at the end of stems, 5 petals, with lots of long stamens
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Opposite leaves grow to 4 inches long.
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Low growing, under 3 feet tall, with lots of woody stems.
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Alkali Mallow
Malvella leprosa
- CA Bloom Apr - Oct
- White to yellow mallow-shaped flower grows pink with age.
- Grows along the ground to perhaps 16 inches long, on hairy stems.
- Leaves are alternate, hairy, and with toothed or wavy margins.
- Grows quickly beside agricultural fields.
- CA native
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5 petals form a cup, starting out white or yellow and turning pink with age. Stem is hairy and grows along the ground.
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Leaves have wavy edges, growing to over an inch wide.
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Grows rapidly in alkaline (salty) soils. Often found near agricultural fields.
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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 Dogwood
Cornus sericea
- CA Bloom Jun - Aug
- White 4-petaled flowers in round bunches
- White berries
- Medium tall shrub grows to 12 feet
- Opposite leaves, green above and hairy grey below
- Found in damp areas
- CA native
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Opposite leaves, strong veins, pointed tips.
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Showy clumps of flowers turn into white berries.
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4-petaled white flowers grow in clumps at the end of stems.
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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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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 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
- CA Bloom Mar - Jun
- White or blue flower with a white center.
- Often black dots and blue veins on the petals.
- Leaves with deep opposite lobes, larger at the base of the plant.
- Grows low to the ground.
- Found many places, from the coast to the mountains.
- CA native
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Petals can be all white, or blue with a white center. Petals often have black dots.
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Here is the blue version. Notice the blue veins towards the center.
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Distinctive leaves with deep opposite lobes.
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Bearded Clover
Trifolium barbigerum
- Height to 1 ft.
- CA Bloom Feb - May
- Brown, pink, violet, white flower
- Irreg petals
- Alternate leaves
- CA native
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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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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 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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Bird's Foot Trefoil
Lotus corniculatus
- Height to 8 in.
- CA Bloom May - Jul
- Tiny fruit clusters look like a bird's foot.
- Short, thin compound leaves make bundles along the stem.
- Find it in open grasslands, wetlands, and compacted soil along roads and trails.
- Other Trefoils
- Not CA native
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Tiny pea flowers cluster at the end of the stem.
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Each plant is small. See fruit pods on the left, compound leaves in the middle, and a flower cluster on the right.
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Colonies of Bird's Foot Trefoil can be prominent in grasslands. It is sometimes vine-like, with prostrate stems up to 20 inches.
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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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Blackwood Acacia
Acacia melanoxylon
- Height 50 - 100 ft.
- CA Bloom Feb - Mar
- This acacia tree has twisted reddish-brown pods.
- The trunk has high levels of tannin, which causes dark stains when people handle it (thus Blackwood).
- Generally found in coastal disturbed areas.
- Not CA native
- Somewhat Invasive
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Pale yellow spherical flowers show many stamens. These develop into reddish-brown pods.
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Mature leaves are generally wide but occasionally have divided fern-like tips. Young leaves are divided too.
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Blackwood Acacia grows to be a substantial tree.
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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 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 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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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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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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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 Dogwood
Cornus glabrata
CA Bloom May - Jun
White flower
Four petals
Opposite leaves
CA native
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Buck Brush
Ceanothus cuneatus
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Opposite leaves are short, thick and rounded. Twigs point directly away from the stem.
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Flowers, in five parts, can be cream or lavender. The green dots at the base of the pistil are nectaries - a sugar bonus for pollinators.
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Aromatic flowers cluster in tight balls close to the stem.
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Bull Clover
Trifolium fucatum
- CA Bloom Apr - Jun
- Height to 1 ft.
- Flowers and leaves are as you would expect in a clover, but larger.
- Short pea pods.
- Found in grasslands.
- CA native
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White or yellow clover flowers bunch together in a round ball. Leaves are formed from 3 separate leaflets.
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The base of each flower expands as its fruit develops. Note the green pointed bracts below the flower head.
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These large clovers often grow in colonies.
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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
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A fairly thin pear-shaped spiny bulge below flower is a good way to distinguish this species.
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Bull Thistle has big spines all the way up the stem, on the leaves, and around the flower.
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Here is a basal rosette of thick, toothed leaves.
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Bur Chevril
Anthriscus caucalis
- Height 2 - 3 ft.
- CA Bloom Mar - May
- White flower
- Five petals
- Alternate leaves
- Disturbed
- Not CA native
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California Aster
Symphyotrichum chilense
CA Bloom Jul - Aug
Blue, pink, violet, white flower
Many petals
Alternate leaves
CA native
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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.
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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.
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Green fruit turns purple when mature. Leathery skin covers oily flesh that surrounds a pit (similar to avocado).
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Bay Laurels can grow to be substantial trees, thickly covered with their spicy-smelling leaves.
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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
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Separate petals, with green leafy sepals in between. This male flower has many stamens.
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Prickles are short, narrow, and plentiful. Himalayan Blackberry has wider, longer, and less densely-packed prickles.
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Red fruit turns black with maturity. Leaves in 3s, coarsely toothed, are hairy and have spines. Veins are indented on the leaves.
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California Brome Grass
Bromus sitchensis var. carinatus
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Spikelets attach to the stem on branches. Glumes are short, revealing 5-10 florets above them.
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Florets form a flat, woven pattern, each with a 1/2" awn.
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Long leaves and inflorescences give this a classic bunch grass look.
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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
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Buckeye trees become covered with columns of sweet-smelling flowers.
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5-part compound leaves are palmate (shaped like a hand). Leaf edges are finely-toothed and bud in early February.
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Trees in the open form a dome shape, often growing 40 feet tall and 40 feet wide. They can live 250 years.
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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
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3 or 4 yellow pea flowers cluster at the end of a long stalk. Leaflets have serrated edges.
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Burclover tends to run along the ground. The 3 clover-like leaflets are separate from one another. Flowers, fruits and leaves are on stalks.
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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.
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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
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The buttercup looks like butter, with 7 to 22 elliptic, overlapping, shiny yellow petals.
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Each buttercup flower gets its own stalk. The center is a half sphere of packed green pistils, surrounded by dozens of yellow stamens.
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Long-stalked basal leaves have 3 deeply- lobed leaflets. Leaves on the flower stems have narrow divisions.
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California Cottonrose
Logfia filaginoides
CA Bloom Mar - Jun
Green flower
Tiny petals
Alternate leaves
CA native
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California Everlasting
Pseudognaphalium californicum
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Each tiny pineapple-shaped flower head is wrapped in white papery phyllaries and contains over 100 minute yellow flowers.
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Leaves are narrow and pointed, growing to 4 inches long. They're smaller higher on the stem.
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Branching stems grow erect, each topped with whitish flower heads.
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California Gilia
Gilia achilleifolia
CA Bloom Feb - Apr
Blue, violet, white flower
Five petals
Alternate, basal leaves
Coastal
CA native
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California Gooseberry
Ribes californicum var. californicum
- Height to 5 ft.
- CA Bloom Feb - Mar
- All Gooseberries are spiny. This one has spines on the stem and more spines covering the fruit.
- Mitten-like leaves grow close to the stem, and partially hide beautiful 5-part hanging flowers.
- Found along the coast and coastal mountains.
- CA native. Found only in California.
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A gorgeous hanging flower, with reflexed sepals, white petals, longer stamens and even longer pistils.
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Woody stems have 3 spines at each node. Also emerging from each node are leaf, flower and fruit stalks.
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Fruits are translucent red spheres surrounded with spines.
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California Melic
Melica californica
- Perennial Bunch Grass 16"-5 ft.
- Inflorescence 2-13"
- No awns
- CA Bloom Jun - Aug
- Found in open or rocky hillsides, oak woodlands, and conifer forests.
- This grass is a favorite with landscape gardeners.
- More about Melica.
- CA native.
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California Melic is an erect plant with ascending, flat leaves. Spikelets lie close to the stem, making a narrow cylinder.
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Melica spikelets are oval and cylindrical, not flattened like most other grasses. Each spikelet has 2-5 florets. At maturity, anthers emerge to release pollen on the wind.
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Thin spikelet branches run along the stem. Glumes at the base of each spikelet are papery and become purple with time. There are no awns.
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California Plantain
Plantago erecta
- CA Bloom Mar - Apr
- About 4" tall.
- Tiny flowers are beautiful when viewed with a magnifying glass.
- A basal rosette of very narrow leaves grows up to 5 inches long.
- The entire plant is hairy.
- Found in open or gravelly areas, often on serpentine.
- CA native
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This plant is smaller than other plantains, perhaps 4 inches tall. It has long, narrow erect leaves.
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Tiny 4-petaled flowers form a tight cluster at the top of the stem.
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California Plantain can grow in dense patches.
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California Poppy
Eschscholzia californica
- CA Bloom Feb - Sep
- Height to 18".
- Flowers have four large overlapping petals. They're orange most places, but usually yellow with an orange center along the coast.
- CA native, and the state flower
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Thin orange petals overlap each other. Notice the sheath covering the young bud. Petals close at night and open in the morning.
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Leaves are grey-green and are much divided. The round flat base just below the petals is distinctive and edged in rose-pink.
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Across the state, California Poppies fill grassy areas with an orange display from April to July.
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California Saxifrage
Micranthes californica
- CA Bloom Mar - Apr
- Stem to 1 foot tall, with several delicate white flowers with red-tipped stamens.
- Long-stemmed basal leaves and few or no leaves on the stem.
- Likes shade and moist conditions.
- CA native
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Five white petals, red-tipped stamens, green center.
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Basal leaves have stems, or oval, and often have teeth or lobes.
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Plant is about 1 foot tall, with basal leaves and flowers at the top.
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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.
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This fragrant rose flower has a single layer of five floppy petals. They surround dozens of yellow-tipped stamens.
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Compound leaves have 5 to 7 leaflets. Each pollinated flower creates one red rose hip, with left-over flower sepals protruding from the end.
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Prickles grow out from the stem; large, flat and often curved.
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Cape Leadwort
Plumbago auriculata
CA Bloom Jan - Dec
Not CA native
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Cattail
Typha domingensis
- Height to 13 ft.
- CA Bloom Mar - Aug
- Primarily found in Southern California in freshwater marshes
- Compare to other Cattails
- CA native
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The male flower spike is yellow-brown and about an inch above a cinnamon-brown female spike.
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This is the only California cattail with orange-brown glands at the base of the leaves.
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Both spikes and leaves are tall, stiff and fairly narrow.
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Chamise
Adenostoma fasciculatum
- Height 4 - 13 ft.
- CA Bloom Jun - Aug
- Chamise fills California hillsides in the summer with thousands of tiny, fragrant, white blooms.
- Tiny needle-like leaves limit water loss in a dry environment.
- Chamise is often paler than the plants around it.
- A California native, it grows natively nowhere else outside our region.
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Each flower has 5 separate, cream-colored petals and a dozen stamens. Leaves are green and needle-like.
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The flowers form sprays at the ends of branches.
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Stems often have peeling bark and are full of oil which increases fire intensity - an advantage for this plant which is ready to regenerate from burls.
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Chaparral Clematis
Clematis lasiantha
CA Bloom Mar - Jul
White flower
Four petals
Opposite leaves
Streambanks canyons
CA native
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Chaparral Currant
Ribes malvaceum var. malvaceum
CA Bloom Dec - Mar
Pink, white flower
Five petals
Alternate leaves
CA native
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Charming Centaury
Zeltnera venusta
CA Bloom Apr - Oct
Pink, white flower
Five petals
Opposite leaves
CA native
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