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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 within the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.
Coastal sage scrub is characterized by low-growing aromatic, and drought-deciduous shrubs adapted to the semi-arid Mediterranean climate of the coastal lowlands. The community is sometimes called "soft chaparral" due to the predominance of soft, drought-deciduous leaves in contrast to the hard, waxy-cuticled leaves on sclerophyllous plants of California's chaparral communities.
Characteristic shrubs and subshrubs include:
Larger shrubs include:
Herbaceous plants, grasses, and in some locales, cacti and succulents, are also part of the flora. Hesperoyucca whipplei, colloquially known as Chaparral Yucca, is commonplace throughout the climate zone.
The coastal sage scrub plant community is divided into three geographical subtypes—northern coastal scrub, southern coastal scrub, and maritime succulent scrub.
The coastal scrub communities are divided into three regions:
The Northern Coastal Scrub consists of prairie, which is terraces with deep alluvial soils, and scrub, which is found on steeper slopes and ravine areas. Evergreen shrubs and subshrubs, which are soft leaves. They are found in semi-open with a height of 2–3 meters, with multiple layers. Some examples of the plant species that can be found are Bush monkeyflower ( Mimulus aurantiacus ), Poison oak ( Toxicodendron diversilobum ), Coffee berry ( Frangula californica ), Golden yarrow ( Eriophyllum confertiflorum ).
California sagebrush ( Artemisia californica ) can be found in Coastal Sage Scrub community, especially in Orange County. Some other plant species that can be found is also giant coreopsis ( Coreopsis gigantea ), Californian black sage ( Salvia mellifera ), California buckwheat ( Eriogonum fasciculatum), and Californian white sage ( Salvia apiana ).
Plant species that can be found in Maritime Succulent Scrub is coast prickly pear ( Opuntia littoralis ), coast barrel cactus ( Ferocactus viridescens ), cliff spurge ( Euphorbia misera ), bush rue ( Cneoridium dumosum ), and Dudleya spp.
Northern coastal scrub occurs along the Pacific Coast from the northern San Francisco Bay Area to southern Oregon. It frequently forms a landscape mosaic with the California coastal prairie plant community.
The predominant plants are low evergreen shrubs and herbs. Characteristic shrubs include coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis), yerba santa (Eriodictyon californicum), coast silk-tassel (Garrya elliptica), salal (Gaultheria shallon), and yellow bush lupine (Lupinus arboreus). Herbaceous species include western blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium bellum), Douglas iris (Iris douglasiana), and grasses.
Southern coastal scrub is mostly found along the maritime Central Coast region, and the terraces and mountains with coastal climate influence in Southern California. Its distribution extends from the southwestern San Francisco Bay Area in the north, through Big Sur, Vandenberg Air Force Base, the Oxnard Plain, the Los Angeles Basin, most of Orange County, parts of Riverside County, coastal San Diego County, and the northwestern region of Baja California state in Mexico, including the areas around Tijuana and Ensenada.
The metropolitan areas of Los Angeles, San Diego, and Tijuana are located in the southern coastal scrublands, and most of the scrublands have been lost to urbanization and agriculture. The plants of this community prefer the mild maritime climates found along Southern California's coastline. World Wildlife Fund estimates that only 15 percent of the coastal sage scrublands remain undeveloped. Some of the remaining southern coastal scrub in Los Angeles County can be found in dunes under the takeoff path at Los Angeles International Airport—LAX, in the coastal Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, and at the Robert J. Bernard Field Station at the Claremont Colleges. In San Diego County, the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base protects larger areas, and the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar has vernal pools and the endemic mint Pogogyne abramsii . One of the largest remaining areas of inland coastal sage scrub is found in the Temescal Mountains of Riverside County.
A few rare and endangered species occur in southern coastal scrub habitats. For example, the coastal California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica) is a threatened bird species endemic to the coastal sage scrublands. Other endemic fauna includes the El Segundo blue butterfly in the LAX dunes; and the Palos Verdes blue butterfly (Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis), at only one site on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
The endangered Torrey pine (Pinus torreyana) is the dominant tree at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve in San Diego, one of only two known stands of this pine species. [1]
Chaparral is a shrubland plant community found primarily in California, in southern Oregon and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate and infrequent, high-intensity crown fires.
The Torrey pine is a rare pine species in California, United States. It is a critically endangered species growing only in coastal San Diego County, and on Santa Rosa Island, offshore from Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara County. The Torrey pine is endemic to the California coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion.
The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of southwestern Oregon, northern, central, and southern California and northwestern Baja California (Mexico), located on the west coast of North America. It is an ecoregion of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, and part of the Nearctic realm.
Salvia mellifera is a small, highly aromatic, evergreen shrub of the genus Salvia native to California, and Baja California, Mexico. It is common in the coastal sage scrub of Southern California and northern Baja California. Black sage has a dark appearance, especially during drought.
Salvia apiana, the Californian 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 California, on the western edges of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts.
The Northern California coastal forests are a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of coastal Northern California and southwestern Oregon.
Northern coastal scrub is a scrubland plant community of California and Oregon. It occurs along the Pacific Coast from Point Sur on the Central California coast in Monterey County, California, to southern Oregon. It frequently forms a landscape mosaic with coastal prairie.
Artemisia californica, also known as California sagebrush, is a species of western North American shrub in the sunflower family.
Ribes viburnifolium, is an uncommon North American species in the gooseberry family. It is known by the common names Catalina currant, Santa Catalina Island currant, island gooseberry and evergreen currant.
Malosma is a plant genus which contains only a single species, Malosma laurina, with the common names laurel sumac and lentisco (Spanish). Malosma laurina is found along the southern California and Baja California coasts of the Pacific Ocean.
Salvia clevelandii, the fragrant sage, blue sage, Jim sage and Cleveland sage, is a perennial plant that is native to Southern California and northern Baja California, growing below 900 m (3,000 ft) elevation in California coastal sage and chaparral habitat. The plant was named in 1874 by Asa Gray, honoring plant collector Daniel Cleveland.
Cneoridium is a monotypic genus in the citrus family which contains the single species Cneoridium dumosum, commonly known as bushrue or coast spice bush. As a perennial, evergreen shrub, Cneoridium is native to the coast of southern California and Baja California, thriving in hot, dry conditions. This plant is characterized by a distinctive citrusy aroma and small, white flowers that appear from winter to spring. The flowers eventually become round berries that resemble a miniature version of the common citrus.
Dudleya edulis is a species of perennial, succulent flowering plant of the Crassulaceae, known by the common names fingertips, lady-fingers, mission lettuce, or simply the San Diego dudleya. The common name "fingertips" denotes the finger-like shape of the leaves; the specific epithet edulis refers to the Kumeyaay people's traditional foraging and consumption of the plant's young scapes. Dudleya edulis is native to the dry, coastal cliffs and chaparral hills of Southern California and northern Baja California, where it has adapted to absorb as much moisture as possible from the nightly fog and marine layer which forms over the Pacific Ocean and gradually moves slightly inland, typically covering all plants and stationary objects in dew. In addition to its inherent drought-tolerance and xeric qualities, this species is also highly salt-tolerant, as it grows almost exclusively facing the ocean, often in exposed settings where it is subjected to regular periods of extreme wind and weather. The species may be found growing on rocky hillsides, sandstone sea cliffs, chaparral habitat, arid canyons, or rooted between exposed, bare rock crevices.
Euphorbia misera is a semi-succulent shrub in the genus Euphorbia commonly known as the cliff spurge or coast spurge. A drought-deciduous shrub, it is typically found as a gnarled, straggly plant occupying seashore bluffs, hills and deserts. Like other members of its genus, it has a milky sap, which can be found exuding out of the light gray bark when damaged. The alternately-arranged leaves are round and folded in the middle, with small hairs on them. The "flowers" can be found blooming year-round, and are colored maroon or yellow in the center with 5 white to light-yellow petal-like appendages attached outside. This species is native to the Baja California peninsula and Sonora in Mexico, and the coast of southern California in the United States, where it is a rare species. It is threatened in some localities by the development of its coastal habitat, which tends to be prime locations for high-end residential and commercial developments.
Adolphia californica, known by the common names California adolphia, California prickbush, and spineshrub, is a species of flowering shrub in the buckthorn family.
Salvia brandegeei is a perennial evergreen shrub in the mint family known by the common names Santa Rosa Island sage or Brandegee's sage. It is a fragrant plant characterized by lavender flowers and dark green leaves. For many years, it was thought to be native only to Santa Rosa Island, one of the Channel Islands of California, until it was discovered along the coast of Baja California. It is threatened by development and mining along the mainland portions of its range, but otherwise has a stable population on Santa Rosa Island.
Ceanothus verrucosus is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae known by the common names wart-stem ceanothus, barranca brush, coast lilac and white coast ceanothus. It is endemic to northwestern Baja California and San Diego County, where it grows in coastal sage scrub and coastal succulent scrub habitats. It is considered a rare species north of the international border, as most of the valuable coastal land that hosts this plant in the San Diego area has been claimed for development. In California, several extant populations still remain scattered around the region, such as one protected at Torrey Pines.
Cylindropuntia californica is a species of cholla cactus known by the common name snake cholla. It is primarily found in Baja California, Mexico and the southernmost part of California in the United States. It is characterized by a short, decumbent habit, yellow-green flowers, elongated stems, and short spines. It is mostly found in coastal sage scrub and coastal chaparral habitats, but two varieties in Baja California can be found in foothills and deserts. In California, variety californica is regarded as a rare and threatened plant, with a California Native Plant Society listing of 1B.1, in part due to its limited number of occurrences and threats from development. It formerly was considered to have a larger range due to the inclusion of Cylindropuntia bernardina within it as the variety parkeri.
The California coastal sage and chaparral is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion, defined by the World Wildlife Fund, located in southwestern California and northwestern Baja California (Mexico). It is part of the larger California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion. The ecoregion corresponds to the USDA Southern California ecoregion section 261B, and to the EPA Southern California/Northern Baja Coast ecoregion 8.
Salvia munzii is a semi-evergreen perennial species of sage known by the common name Munz's sage or San Miguel Mountain sage. It is native to northern Baja California, Mexico, and it can be found in a few locations just north of the border in San Diego County, California, where it is particularly rare. It is characterized by small leaves and clear blue flowers. It is a member of the coastal sage scrub and chaparral plant communities.