Transverse Ranges
The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa B ...
located in
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
of the
California Floristic Province
The California Floristic Province (CFP) is a floristic province with a Mediterranean-type climate located on the Pacific Coast of North America with a distinctive flora similar to other regions with a winter rainfall and summer drought climate ...
. This ecoregion has two predominant
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
s, with three primary
plant communities
A plant community is a collection or association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The components of each plant ...
:
* the
California coastal sage and chaparral
The California coastal sage and chaparral ( es, Salvia y chaparral costero de California) is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion located in southwestern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico). It ...
, with
coastal sage scrub
Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is ...
along the coast,
* the
California montane chaparral and woodlands
The California montane chaparral and woodlands is an ecoregion defined by the World Wildlife Fund, spanning of mountains in the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, and Coast Ranges of southern and central California. The ecoregion is part of ...
, with
chaparral
Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...
and
California oak woodland
California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico. Oak woodland is widespread at lower elevations in coasta ...
s as the mountains rise and recede from the coast and descend into the interior valleys.
Introduction
The
Santa Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...
are covered by hundreds of local plant species: some are
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
or very rare, some are beautiful
California native plants
California native plants are plants that existed in California prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists in the late 18th century. California includes parts of at least three phytochoria. The largest is the California Floristic ...
''in situ'', and some also are familiar as horticultural ornamental and native garden plants. Each season has different plants predominating the visual experience.
A partial list of Plants seen in the Santa Monica Mountains:Additional References: ''see the following links and books.''
Native and non-native flora
Monocotyledons
*
Agavaceae
Agavoideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, order Asparagales. It has previously been treated as a separate family, Agavaceae. The group includes many well-known desert and dry-zone types, such as the agav ...
Amaryllidaceae
The Amaryllidaceae are a family of herbaceous, mainly perennial and bulbous (rarely rhizomatous) flowering plants in the monocot order Asparagales. The family takes its name from the genus ''Amaryllis'' and is commonly known as the amaryllis fa ...
Bloomeria crocea
''Bloomeria crocea'', also known as goldenstar, is a geophyte from southern California and northern Baja California. It is found along hillsides, in grassland and chaparral edges, and in dry flats.
Description
The corms of ''Bloomeria crocea'' ...
''
:''Dipterostemon capitatus'' (Blue Dicks)
*
Cyperaceae
The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' w ...
: ''Carex senta''
: ''
Carex
''Carex'' is a vast genus of more than 2,000 species of grass-like plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges (or seg, in older books). Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of genus ''Carex'' ...
'' spp.
*
Iridaceae
Iridaceae is a family of plants in order Asparagales, taking its name from the irises, meaning rainbow, referring to its many colours. There are 66 accepted genera with a total of c. 2244 species worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016). It include ...
: ''
Sisyrinchium bellum
''Sisyrinchium bellum'', the western blue-eyed grass or Californian blue-eyed grass, is the common blue-eyed grass of California and Oregon in and west of the Sierra Nevada, its range extending south into Baja California. In parts of its range, ...
'' (Blue Eyed Grass)
*
Juncaceae
Juncaceae is a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the rush family. It consists of 8 genera and about 464 known species of slow-growing, rhizomatous, herbaceous monocotyledonous plants that may superficially resemble grasses and s ...
: ''
Juncus patens
''Juncus patens'' is a species of rush, known by the common names spreading rush and California grey rush.
It is native to the West Coast of the United States from Washington to California, and into Baja California, Mexico.
It grows at seeps, ...
'' (Gray Spike Rush)
: ''
Juncus
''Juncus'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants, commonly known as rushes. It is the largest genus in the family Juncaceae, containing around 300 species.
Description
Rushes of the genus ''Juncus'' are herbaceous plants that superfici ...
'' spp.
*
Liliaceae
The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a fair a ...
:''
Calochortus splendens
''Calochortus splendens'' is a North American species of mariposa lily known by the common name splendid mariposa lily.Douglas, David 1835. Transactions of the Horticultural Society of London, series. 2 1(5): 411–412, plate 15, figure A
''Cal ...
'' (Calochortus)
:''
Calochortus venustus
''Calochortus venustus'' is a California species of flowering plants in the lily family known by the common name butterfly mariposa lily. It is a perennial herb that grows in grasslands and open wooded areas.
Distribution and habitat
The specie ...
''
:''
Calochortus
''Calochortus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the lily family. The group includes herbaceous, perennial and bulbous species, all native to North America (primarily the Western United States).
The genus ''Calochortus'' includes mariposa ...
spp.''
:''
Chlorogalum pomeridianum
''Chlorogalum pomeridianum'', the wavy-leafed soap plant, California soaproot, or Amole, is the most common and most widely distributed of the soap plants, soaproots or amoles, which make up the genus ''Chlorogalum'' of flowering plants.
Lilium humboldtii
''Lilium humboldtii'', or Humboldt's lily, is a species of lily native to the US state of California and the Mexican state of Baja California. It is named after naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt. It is native to the South High Casca ...
'' (Humboldt's Lily)
*
Orchidaceae
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...
: ''
Epipactis gigantea
''Epipactis gigantea'' is a species of orchid known as the stream orchid, giant helleborine, and chatterbox. This wildflower is native to western North America from British Columbia to central Mexico. This is one of the most abundant orchids of ...
'' (Stream Orchid)
*
Poaceae
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...
alt.
Gramineae
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...
Leymus condensatus
''Leymus condensatus'', the giant wildrye, is a wild rye grass native to eastern Oregon, California and northern Mexico.
Description
''Leymus condensatus'' also commonly referred to as ''Canyon Prince'' is a type of wild rye that is part of t ...
Leymus triticoides
''Leymus triticoides'', with the common names creeping wild rye and beardless wild rye, is a species of wild rye. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California and Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas ...
Nassella pulchra
''Nassella pulchra'', basionym ''Stipa pulchra'', is a species of grass known by the common names purple needlegrass and purple tussockgrass. It is native to the U.S. state of California, where it occurs throughout the coastal hills, valleys, an ...
Aizoaceae
The Aizoaceae, or fig-marigold family, is a large family of dicotyledonous flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is d ...
Carpobrotus edulis
''Carpobrotus edulis'' is a ground-creeping plant with succulent leaves in the genus ''Carpobrotus'', native to South Africa. Its common names include hottentot-fig, sour fig, ice plant or highway ice plant.
Description
''Carpobrotus edulis'' ...
''
:''
Mesembryanthemum crystallinum
''Mesembryanthemum crystallinum'' is a prostrate succulent plant native to Africa, Sinai and southern Europe, and naturalized in the New World. The plant is covered with large, glistening bladder cells or water vesicles, reflected in its common ...
''
*
Anacardiaceae
The Anacardiaceae, commonly known as the cashew family or sumac family, are a family of flowering plants, including about 83 genera with about 860 known species. Members of the Anacardiaceae bear fruits that are drupes and in some cases produce ...
(
Sumac
Sumac ( or ), also spelled sumach, is any of about 35 species of flowering plants in the genus ''Rhus'' and related genera in the cashew family (Anacardiaceae). Sumacs grow in subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world, including Eas ...
)
:''
Malosma laurina
''Malosma'' is a plant genus which contains only a single species, ''Malosma laurina'', with the common names laurel sumac and lentisco (Spanish).Integrated Taxonomic Information System (2007)''Malosma'' retrieved June 10, 2007.
''Malosma laurin ...
Rhus trilobata
''Rhus trilobata'' is a shrub in the sumac genus ('' Rhus'') with the common names skunkbush sumac, sourberry, skunkbush, and three-leaf sumac. It is native to the western half of Canada and the Western United States, from the Great Plains to ...
Toxicodendron diversilobum
''Toxicodendron diversilobum'' (syn. ''Rhus diversiloba''), commonly named Pacific poison oak or western poison oak, is a woody vine or shrub in the sumac family, Anacardiaceae. It is widely distributed in western North America, inhabiting coni ...
'' (Poison Oak) (''skin irritation'')
*
Apiaceae
Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants ...
(
Umbel
In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...
Poison Hemlock
''Conium maculatum'', colloquially known as hemlock, poison hemlock or wild hemlock, is a highly poisonous biennial herbaceous flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, native to Europe and North Africa. A hardy plant capable of living in ...
) (''poisonous'')
: ''
Foeniculum vulgare
Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalize ...
'' (Sweet
Fennel
Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...
)
*
Asteraceae
The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...
:(
Yarrow
''Achillea millefolium'', commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Other common names include old man's pepper, devil's nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, and thousand seal.
The ...
)
: ''
Artemisia californica
''Artemisia californica'', also known as California sagebrush, is a species of western North American shrub in the sunflower family.
Description
''Artemisia californica'' branches from the base and grows out from there, becoming rounded; it gro ...
Mule fat
''Baccharis salicifolia'' is a blooming shrub native to the sage scrub community and desert southwest of the United States and northern Mexico, as well as parts of South America. Its usual common name is mule fat;Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam M ...
)
: ''
Baccharis pilularis
''Baccharis pilularis'', called coyote brush (or bush), chaparral broom, and bush baccharis, is a shrub in the family Asteraceae native to California, Oregon, Washington, and Baja California. There are reports of isolated populations in New Mex ...
'' (
Coyote Brush
''Baccharis pilularis'', called coyote brush (or bush), chaparral broom, and bush baccharis, is a shrub in the family Asteraceae native to California, Oregon, Washington, and Baja California. There are reports of isolated populations in New Mexi ...
Star Thistle
''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding reg ...
) (''significant invasive exotic'')
: ''
Cirsium occidentale
''Cirsium occidentale'', with the common name cobweb thistle or cobwebby thistle, is a North American species of thistle in the family Asteraceae.
Description
''Cirsium occidentale'' is a biennial plant forming a taproot. It may be short or qui ...
Silybum marianum
''Silybum marianum'' is a species of thistle. It has various common names including milk thistle, blessed milkthistle, Marian thistle, Mary thistle, Saint Mary's thistle, Mediterranean milk thistle, variegated thistle and Scotch thistle (thou ...
''
:Misc (sunfowers)
*
Boraginaceae
Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees and herbs in 146, to 156 genera with a worldwide distribution.
The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the or ...
*
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The le ...
: ''Brassica nigra (Black
Mustard
Mustard may refer to:
Food and plants
* Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment
* Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment
** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...
Cactaceae
A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...
: ''
Opuntia littoralis
''Opuntia littoralis'' is a species of prickly pear cactus known by the common name coastal pricklypear. It is sometimes called the sprawling prickly pear due to its short stems and habit of growing close to the ground. ''"Littoral"'' means "per ...
''
*
Capparaceae
The Capparaceae (or Capparidaceae), commonly known as the caper family, are a family of plants in the order Brassicales. As currently circumscribed, the family contains 33 genera and about 700 species. The largest genera are ''Capparis'' (about ...
Sambucus mexicana ''Sambucus mexicana'' may refer to the following North American black or blue elderberry species:
*''Sambucus mexicana''
::= ''Sambucus mexicana'' var. ''bipinnata''
::= '' Sambucus canadensis''
::= ''Sambucus nigra'' subsp. ''canadensis''
* ...
'' (Mexican
Elderberry
''Sambucus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae. The various species are commonly called elder or elderberry. The genus was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified as Adoxaceae due to ge ...
)
*
Caryophyllaceae
Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactacea ...
Chenopodiaceae
Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus '' Amaranthus''. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, making i ...
Tumbleweed
A tumbleweed is a structural part of the above-ground anatomy of a number of species of plants. It is a diaspore that, once mature and dry, detaches from its root or stem and rolls due to the force of the wind. In most such species, the tumble ...
)
*
Cistaceae
The Cistaceae are a small family of plants (rock-rose or rock rose family) known for their beautiful shrubs, which are profusely covered by flowers at the time of blossom. This family consists of about 170(-200) species in nine genera that are ...
Convolvulaceae
Convolvulaceae (), commonly called the bindweeds or morning glories, is a family of about 60 genera and more than 1,650 species. These species are primarily herbaceous vines, but also include trees, shrubs and herbs. The tubers of several spec ...
Morning glory
Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose current taxonomy and systematics are in flux. Morning glory species belong to many genera, some of ...
)
: ''
Cuscuta californica
''Cuscuta californica'' is a species of dodder known by the common names chaparral dodder and California dodder. This is an annual parasitic plant that may resemble fine strands of spaghetti or twine strewn across other species in its habitat. A ...
'' (
Dodder
''Cuscuta'' (), commonly known as dodder or amarbel, is a genus of over 201 species of yellow, orange, or red (rarely green) parasitic plants. Formerly treated as the only genus in the family Cuscutaceae, it now is accepted as belonging in the ...
, Orangebeard, Witches Hair)
*
Crassulaceae
The Crassulaceae (from Latin ''crassus'', thick), also known as the stonecrop family or the orpine family, are a diverse family of dicotyledon flowering plants characterized by succulent leaves and a unique form of photosynthesis, known as Crass ...
Dudleya pulverulenta
''Dudleya pulverulenta'' is a species of Perennial plant, perennial succulent plant known by the common names chalk lettuce, chalk dudleya, and chalk liveforever. It is one of the largest ''Dudleya'', with a silvery, waxy rosette that may greatl ...
" (Chalk Dudleya)
*
Cucurbitaceae
The Cucurbitaceae, also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in around 95 genera, of which the most important to humans are:
*''Cucurbita'' – squash, pumpkin, zucchini, some gourds
*''Lagena ...
: ''
Cucurbita foetidissima
''Cucurbita foetidissima'' is a tuberous xerophytic plant found in the central and southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It has numerous common names, including: buffalo gourd, calabazilla, chilicote, coyote gourd, fetid gourd, fetid wi ...
Ericaceae
The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c.4250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it th ...
Arctostaphylos glandulosa
''Arctostaphylos glandulosa'', with the common name Eastwood's manzanita, is a species of manzanita.
Distribution
This shrub is native to the coastal slopes of western North America from Oregon through California to Baja California.
Descriptio ...
''
*
Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, e ...
Ricinus communis
''Ricinus communis'', the castor bean or castor oil plant, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus, ''Ricinus'', and subtribe, Ricininae. The evolution of cas ...
Pea
The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...
family)
: ''
Lotus scoparius
''Acmispon glaber'' (previously ''Lotus scoparius'') (common deerweed, deer weed, deervetch, California broom or western bird's-foot trefoil) is a perennial subshrub in the family Fabaceae (pea family). The plant is a pioneer species found in d ...
'' (
Broom
A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...
)
: ''
Lupinus
''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur ...
'' spp.
: ''
Lupinus hirsutissimus
''Lupinus hirsutissimus'' is a species of Lupinus, lupine known by the common names stinging annual lupine or stinging lupine. It is native to the coastal mountains of Baja California and Southern California as far north as the San Francisco Bay ...
''
: ''
Medicago sativa
Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...
''
: ''
Pickeringia montana
''Pickeringia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It was recently assigned to the unranked, monophyletic ''Cladrastis'' clade. It was named after the naturalist Charles Pickering. Its only species is ''Pic ...
''
: ''
Spartium junceum
''Spartium junceum'', known as Spanish broom, rush broom, or weaver's broom, it is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and the sole species in the genus ''Spartium''. It is closely related to the other brooms (in the genera '' Cy ...
''
*
Gentianaceae
Gentianaceae is a family of flowering plants of 103 genera and about 1600 species.
Etymology
The family takes its name from the genus '' Gentiana'', named after the Illyrian king Gentius.
Distribution
Distribution is cosmopolitan.
Characteri ...
Erodium cicutarium
''Erodium cicutarium'', also known as common stork's-bill, redstem filaree, redstem stork's bill or pinweed, is a herbaceous annual plant, annual – or in warm climates, biennial plant, biennial – member of the family Geraniaceae of flowering ...
Phacelia parryi
''Phacelia parryi'' is a species of phacelia known by the common name Parry's phacelia.
Distribution
It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in coastal and inland mountain ranges and deserts. Its range may extend ...
''
*
Lamiaceae
The Lamiaceae ( )
or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...
(Mint)
: ''
Marrubium vulgare
''Marrubium vulgare'' (white horehound or common horehound) is a flowering plant in the mint family (Lamiaceae), native to Europe, northern Africa, and southwestern and central Asia. It is also widely naturalized in many places, including most of ...
Salvia apiana
''Salvia apiana'', the white sage, bee sage, or sacred sage is an evergreen perennial shrub that is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, found mainly in the coastal sage scrub habitat of Southern California and Baja C ...
'' (
White Sage
''Salvia apiana'', the white sage, bee sage, or sacred sage is an evergreen perennial shrub that is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, found mainly in the coastal sage scrub habitat of Southern California and Baja C ...
Salvia columbariae
''Salvia columbariae'' is an annual plant that is commonly called chia, chia sage, golden chia, or desert chia, because its seeds are used in the same way as those of ''Salvia hispanica'' (Chia seed, chia). It grows in California, Nevada, Utah, ...
Salvia leucophylla
''Salvia leucophylla'', the San Luis purple sage, purple sage, or gray sage, is an aromatic sage native to the southern coastal mountain ranges of the Californias.
Description
''S. leucophylla'' is an evergreen shrub that grows up to tall and ...
'' (Purple sage)
: ''
Salvia mellifera
''Salvia mellifera'' (black sage, also known as seel by the Mahuna) is a small, highly aromatic, evergreen shrub of the genus ''Salvia'' (the sages) native to California, and Baja California, Mexico. It is common in the coastal sage scrub of Sou ...
'' (Black sage)
*
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...
: ''
Malacothamnus fasciculatus
''Malacothamnus fasciculatus'', with the common name chaparral mallow, is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family.
''
: ''
Malva parviflora
''Malva parviflora'' is an annual or perennial herb that is native to Northern Africa, Europe and Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subco ...
Nyctaginaceae
Nyctaginaceae, the four o'clock family, is a family of around 33 genera and 290 species of flowering plants, widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, with a few representatives in temperate regions. The family has a unique fruit t ...
Verbena
''Verbena'' (), also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas a ...
Wishbone Plant
Wishbone commonly refers to:
* Furcula, a fork-shaped bone in birds and some dinosaurs
Wishbone may also refer to:
* Wish-Bone, an American salad dressing and condiment company
* Wishbone formation, a type of offense in American football
* Wishb ...
)
*
Onagraceae
The Onagraceae are a family of flowering plants known as the willowherb family or evening primrose family. They include about 650 species of herbs, shrubs, and treesClarkia deflexa ''
: ''
Clarkia unguiculata
''Clarkia unguiculata'' is a species of wildflower known by the common name elegant clarkia or mountain garland. This plant is endemic to California, where it is found in many woodland habitats. Specifically it is common on the forest floor of man ...
Oxalidaceae
The Oxalidaceae, or wood sorrel family, are a small family of five genera of herbaceous plants, shrubs and small trees, with the great majority of the 570 species in the genus ''Oxalis'' (wood sorrels). Members of this family typically have divid ...
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Oxalis pes-caprae
''Oxalis pes-caprae'' (African wood-sorrel, Bermuda buttercup, Bermuda sorrel, buttercup oxalis, Cape sorrel, English weed, goat's-foot, sourgrass, soursob or soursop; ) is a species of tristylous yellow-flowering plant in the wood sorrel famil ...
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Paeoniaceae
The peony or paeony is a flowering plant in the genus ''Paeonia'' , the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae . Peonies are native to Asia, Europe and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguished, ...
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Paeonia californica
''Paeonia californica'' is a perennial herbaceous plant of 35–70 cm high, that retreats underground in summer, and reoccurs with the arrival of the winter rains. It has lobed leaves, elliptic (cup-shaped) drooping flowers with dark maroon- ...
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Papaveraceae
The Papaveraceae are an economically important family of about 42 genera and approximately 775 known species of flowering plants in the order Ranunculales, informally known as the poppy family. The family is cosmopolitan, occurring in temperat ...
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Dendromecon rigida
''Dendromecon rigida'', also called bush poppy or tree poppy, is a shrub or small tree of the Papaveraceae native to California and Baja California.
Distribution and habitat
''Dendromecon rigida'' occurs in Northern California in the foothills ...
Eschscholzia californica
''Eschscholzia californica'', the California poppy, golden poppy, California sunlight or cup of gold, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to the United States and Mexico. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant ...
Romneya coulteri
''Romneya coulteri'', the Coulter's Matilija poppy or California tree poppy, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae. Native to southern California, USA, and Baja California, Mexico, it grows in dry canyons in ...
Polygonaceae
The Polygonaceae are a family of flowering plants known informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The name is based on the genus '' Polygonum'', and was first used by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1 ...
Eriogonum cinereum
''Eriogonum cinereum'' is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names coastal buckwheat and ashyleaf buckwheat.
Distribution
This shrub is endemic to the coastline of Southern California, primarily within Los Angeles County and Vent ...
'' - (Coastal Buckwheat) ''(endemic)''
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Eriogonum elongatum
''Eriogonum elongatum'', commonly known as longstem buckwheat or wand buckwheat, is a species of Eriogonum, wild buckwheat native to coastal southern and Baja California.
Description
''Eriogonum elongatum'' is a perennial herb reaching a heigh ...
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Eriogonum fasciculatum
''Eriogonum fasciculatum'' is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names California buckwheat and flat-topped buckwheat. Characterized by small, white and pink flower clusters that give off a cottony effect, this species grows vari ...
Portulacaceae
The Portulacaceae are a family of flowering plants, comprising 115 species in a single genus '' Portulaca''. Formerly some 20 genera with about 500 species, were placed there, but it is now restricted to encompass only one genus, the other genera ...
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Claytonia perfoliata
''Claytonia perfoliata'' ( syn. ''Montia perfoliata''), also known as miner's lettuce, Indian lettuce, winter purslane, or ''palsingat'' (Cahuilla), is a flowering plant in the family Montiaceae. It is an edible, fleshy, herbaceous, annual plant ...
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Primulaceae
The Primulaceae , commonly known as the primrose family (but not related to the Onagraceae, evening primrose family), are a family (biology), family of Herbaceous plant, herbaceous and woody flowering plants including some favourite garden plants ...
Ranunculaceae
Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide.
The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 species), ''Delphinium' ...
Delphinium cardinale
''Delphinium cardinale'' is a species of larkspur known by the common names scarlet larkspur and cardinal larkspur. This wildflower is native to California and Baja California, where it grows on coastal, inland, and desert chaparral slopes, su ...
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Delphinium parryi
''Delphinium parryi'' is a species of larkspur known by the common names San Bernardino larkspur and Parry's larkspur. This wildflower is native to Baja California and California from the San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, ...
Rhamnaceae
The Rhamnaceae are a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines, commonly called the buckthorn family. Rhamnaceae is included in the order Rosales.
The family contains about 55 genera and 950 species. The Rhamnaceae h ...
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Ceanothus crassifolius
''Ceanothus crassifolius'' is a species of flowering shrub known by the common name hoaryleaf ceanothus. This ''Ceanothus'' is found throughout the coastal mountain ranges of the southern half of California, and its range extends into Baja Calif ...
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Ceanothus cuneatus
''Ceanothus cuneatus'' is a species of flowering shrub known by the common names buckbrush and wedgeleaf ceanothus.
Distribution
This ''Ceanothus'' is native to Oregon, California, and northern Baja California, where it can be found in a number ...
Rhamnus californica
''Frangula californica'' (previously classified as ''Rhamnus californica'') is a species of flowering plant in the buckthorn family native to western North America. It produces edible fruits and seeds.http://honest-food.net/2014/08/13/california ...
'' - (Coffeeberry)
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Rosaceae
Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera.
The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are ''Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...
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Adenostoma fasciculatum
''Adenostoma fasciculatum'', commonly known as chamise or greasewood, is a flowering plant native to California and Baja California. This shrub is one of the most widespread plants of the California chaparral ecoregion. Chamise produces a specia ...
'' - (Coastal Sage)
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Cercocarpus betuloides
''Cercocarpus betuloides'' is a shrub or small tree in the rose family.Flowering Plants of the Santa Monica Mountains, Nancy Dale,2nd Ed, 2000, p. 170 Its common names include mountain mahogany and birch leaf mountain mahogany The common name "m ...
'' - (Mountain Mahogany)
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Heteromeles arbutifolia
''Heteromeles arbutifolia'' (; more commonly by Californian botanists), commonly known as toyon, is a common perennial shrub native to extreme southwest Oregon, California, and the Baja California Peninsula. It is the sole species in the genus ...
Rosa californica
''Rosa californica'', the California wildrose, or California rose, is a species of rose native to the U.S. states of California and Oregon and the northern part of Baja California, Mexico. The plant is native to chaparral and woodlands and the ...
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Rubus ursinus
''Rubus ursinus'' is a North American species of blackberry or dewberry, known by the common names California blackberry, California dewberry, Douglas berry, Pacific blackberry, Pacific dewberry and trailing blackberry.
Description
''Rubus ursin ...
'' - (California Blackberry)
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Salicaceae
The Salicaceae is the willow family of flowering plants. The traditional family (Salicaceae ''sensu stricto'') included the willows, poplar, aspen, and cottonwoods. Genetic studies summarized by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) have greatly ...
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Salix lasiolepis
''Salix lasiolepis'' (arroyo willow) is a species of willow native to western North America.
Distribution
The core range of the arroyo willow includes most of California, including the California Coast Ranges, Arizona, Klamath Mountains, Penin ...
'' - (Arroyo Willow)
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Saxifragaceae
Saxifragaceae is a family of herbaceous perennial flowering plants, within the core eudicot order Saxifragales. The taxonomy of the family has been greatly revised and the scope much reduced in the era of molecular phylogenetic analysis. The fa ...
Ribes aureum
''Ribes aureum'', known by the common names golden currant, clove currant, pruterberry and buffalo currant, is a species of flowering plant in the genus '' Ribes'' native to North America.
Description
The plant is a small to medium-sized decidu ...
'' - (Golden Currant)
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Ribes divaricatum
''Ribes divaricatum'' is a species in the genus ''Ribes'' found in the forests, woodlands, and coastal scrub of western North America from British Columbia to California. The three accepted varieties have various common names which include the wo ...
Scrophulariaceae
The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs. Flowers have bilateral (zygomorphic) or rarely radial (actinomorphic) symmetry. The Scr ...
Mimulus guttatus
''Erythranthe guttata'', with the common names seep monkeyflower and common yellow monkeyflower, is a yellow bee-pollinated annual or perennial plant. It was formerly known as ''Mimulus guttatus''.
''Erythranthe guttata'' is a model organism f ...
Penstemon spectabilis
''Penstemon spectabilis'' is a species of penstemon known by the common name showy penstemon or showy beardtongue. It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in the chaparral, scrub, and woodlands of the coastal mou ...
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Solanaceae
The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and orn ...
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Datura innoxia
''Datura innoxia'' (often spelled ''inoxia''), known as pricklyburr, recurved thorn-apple, downy thorn-apple, Indian-apple, lovache, moonflower, nacazcul, toloatzin, toloaxihuitl, tolguache or toloache, is a species of flowering plant in the fami ...
'' (Datura)
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Nicotiana glauca
''Nicotiana glauca'' is a species of flowering plant in the tobacco genus Nicotiana of the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is known by the common name tree tobacco. Its leaves are attached to the stalk by Petiole (botany), petioles (many other ' ...
Nicotiana glauca
''Nicotiana glauca'' is a species of flowering plant in the tobacco genus Nicotiana of the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is known by the common name tree tobacco. Its leaves are attached to the stalk by Petiole (botany), petioles (many other ' ...
Acer macrophyllum
''Acer macrophyllum'', the bigleaf maple or Oregon maple, is a large deciduous tree in the genus '' Acer''.
It is native to western North America, mostly near the Pacific coast, from southernmost Alaska to southern California. Some stands are a ...
'' - (Bigleaf Maple)
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Alnus rhombifolia
''Alnus rhombifolia'', the white alder, is an alder tree native to western North America, from British Columbia and Washington east to western Montana, southeast to the Sierra Nevada, and south through the Peninsular Ranges and Colorado Desert oa ...
'' - (White Alder)
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Juglans californica
''Juglans californica'', the California black walnut, also called the California walnut, or the Southern California black walnut, is a large shrub or small tree (about 20-49 feet tall) of the walnut family, Juglandaceae, endemic to Southern Calif ...
'' - (California Black Walnut)
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Quercus agrifolia
''Quercus agrifolia'', the California live oak, or coast live oak, is a highly variable, often evergreen oak tree, a type of live oak, native to the California Floristic Province. It may be shrubby, depending on age and growing location, but is ...
'' - (Coast Live Oak)
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Quercus chrysolepis
''Quercus chrysolepis'', commonly termed canyon live oak, canyon oak, golden cup oak or maul oak, is a North American species of evergreen oak that is found in Mexico and in the western United States, notably in the California Coast Ranges. This ...
Platanus racemosa
''Platanus racemosa'' is a species of plane tree known by several common names, including California sycamore, western sycamore, California plane tree, and in North American Spanish aliso. ''Platanus racemosa'' is native to California and Baja ...
'' - (California Sycamore)
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Umbellularia Californica
''Umbellularia californica'' is a large hardwood tree native to coastal forests and the Sierra foothills of California, and to coastal forests extending into Oregon. It is endemic to the California Floristic Province. It is the sole species in th ...
'' - (California Bay)
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See also
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Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is a United States national recreation area containing many individual parks and open space preserves, located primarily in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. The SMMNRA is in t ...
Coastal sage scrub
Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is ...
plant community
A plant community is a collection or association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The components of each plant co ...
California Native Plant Society
The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is a California environmental non-profit organization (501(c)3) that seeks to increase understanding of California's native flora and to preserve it for future generations. The mission of CNPS is to con ...
*"Flora of the Santa Monica Mountains, California", Southern California Botanists; Peter H Raven.
*"Wildflowers of the Santa Monica Mountains", by Milt McAuley.
*"Flowering Plants: The Santa Monica Mountains, Coastal and Chaparral Regions of Southern California", by Nancy Dale.
*"Roadside Plants of Southern California", by Thomas J. Belzer.
*"California Native Plants for the Garden", by Carol Bornstein, David Fross, and Bart O'Brien; Cachuma Press, Los Olivos CA, 2005; & .
* "
The Jepson Manual
''The Jepson Manual'' is a flora of the vascular plants that are either native to or naturalized in California. Botanists often refer to the book simply as ''Jepson''. It is produced by the University and Jepson Herbaria, of the University of Cali ...
Santa Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...