List of California native plants

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Native wildflower blazing star (Mentzelia lindleyi) Mentzelialindleyi.jpg
Native wildflower blazing star ( Mentzelia lindleyi )
Gentiana algida in the Sierra Nevada Gentiana newberryi Sierra gentians.jpg
Gentiana algida in the Sierra Nevada

California native plants are plants that existed in California prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists in the late 18th century. [1] California includes parts of at least three phytochoria. The largest is the California Floristic Province, a geographical area that covers most of California, portions of neighboring Oregon, Nevada, and Baja California, and is regarded as a "world hotspot" of biodiversity. [2] [3]

Contents

Introduction

In 1993, The Jepson Manual estimated that California was home to 4,693 native species and 1,169 native subspecies or varieties, including 1,416 endemic species. A 2001 study by the California Native Plant Society estimated 6,300 native plants. These estimates continue to change over time. [2]

Of California's total plant population, 2,153 species, subspecies, and varieties are endemic and native to California alone, according to the 1993 Jepson Manual study. [4] This botanical diversity stems not only from the size of the state, but also its diverse topographies, climates, and soils (e.g. serpentine outcrops). Numerous plant groupings exist in California, and botanists work to structure them into identifiable ecoregions, plant communities, vegetation types, and habitats, and taxonomies. [4] [5]

California native plants include some that have widespread horticultural use. Sometimes the appreciation began outside of California—lupines, California fuchsias, and California poppies were first cultivated in British and European gardens for over a century. [6]

Selected trees

Coniferous trees

Sequoias and redwoods

Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) CA 254 Avenue of the Giants.jpg
Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)

Pine trees

Pinus ponderosa, Kings Canyon National Park Pinus ponderosa KingsCanyon1.jpg
Pinus ponderosa , Kings Canyon National Park

Western Cypress

Monterey cypress, Carmel Carmel Monterey Cypress.jpg
Monterey cypress, Carmel

Other conifers

Oak trees

Valley oak near Mount Diablo. Valley Oak Mount Diablo.jpg
Valley oak near Mount Diablo.
California is home to many deciduous and evergreen oaks, often occurring in oak woodlands:

Riparian trees

Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) in Lee Vining Canyon Aspens in Lee Vining Creek in the Fall.jpg
Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) in Lee Vining Canyon
In riparian areas (streamside and moist habitats) some of the trees include:

Other trees and tree-like shrubs

Selected shrubs

Fremontodendron californicum (California flannelbush) Fremontodendron californicum.jpg
Fremontodendron californicum (California flannelbush)

Selected desert plants

A Joshua tree in Joshua Tree National Park Joshua Tree NP - Joshua Tree 2.jpg
A Joshua tree in Joshua Tree National Park
Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) Larrea tridentata Anza-Borrego.jpg
Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata)

Selected perennials

Eriogonum fasciculatum (California buckwheat) California Buckwheat (4776487540).jpg
Eriogonum fasciculatum (California buckwheat)

Sunny habitats

Shady habitats

Ferns

Selected bulbs

Brodiaea coronaria (California hyacinth) Brodiaeacoronaria.jpg
Brodiaea coronaria (California hyacinth)

Selected annuals and wildflowers

Selected vines

Aristolochia californica (Dutchman's pipe) Aristolochia californica flower 2004-02-23.jpg
Aristolochia californica (Dutchman's pipe)

Selected grasses

Festuca californica, El Cajon Festucacalifornica0.jpg
Festuca californica , El Cajon
Grasses: [14]
Grasslike: [15]

Selected succulents

Coast dudleya (Dudleya caespitosa) Dudleya caespitosa 5.jpg
Coast dudleya (Dudleya caespitosa)
Dudleyas
Sedums

Environmental challenges

Some California native plants are in rapid decline in their native habitat due to urban sprawl, agriculture, overgrazing, recreational impacts, pollution, and invasive non-native species (invasive exotics) colonization pressures (animals and other kingdoms of life, as well as plants). [16]

California also has 1,023 species of non-native plants, some now problematic invasive species such as yellow starthistle, that were introduced during the Spanish colonization, the California Gold Rush, and subsequent immigrations and import trading of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California chaparral and woodlands</span> Ecoregion in the western United States and Mexico

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arboretum at the University of California, Santa Cruz</span> Arboretum in Santa Cruz, California

The Arboretum & Botanic Garden at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is located on the campus of the University of California, Santa Cruz, in the United States.

<i>Dudleya</i> North American succulent genus

Dudleya, commonly known as liveforevers is a genus of rosette-forming succulent plants in the stonecrop family, Crassulaceae, consisting of about 68 taxa in southwestern North America and Guadalupe Island. The species come in many forms, some large and evergreen, others geophytic and deciduous. Yet, despite their dramatic variations in appearance, most species readily hybridize. The flowers of Dudleya have parts numbered in fives, with the petals arranged in tubular, star-shaped, and bell-shaped forms and, when fruiting, are filled with tiny, ovoid-crescent-shaped seeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern California coastal forests</span> Temperate coniferous forests ecoregion in northern California and southwestern Oregon

The Northern California coastal forests are a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of coastal Northern California and southwestern Oregon.

<i>Hesperocyparis bakeri</i> Western North American species of conifer

Hesperocyparis bakeri, previously known Cupressus bakeri, with the common names Baker cypress, Modoc cypress, or Siskiyou cypress, is a rare species of western cypress tree endemic to a small area across far northern California and extreme southwestern Oregon, in the western United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sierra Juárez and San Pedro Mártir pine–oak forests</span> Temperate coniferous forests ecoregion in Baja California, Mexico

The Sierra Juárez and San Pedro Mártir pine–oak forests is a Nearctic temperate coniferous forests ecoregion that covers the higher elevations of the Sierra Juárez and Sierra San Pedro Mártir ranges of the Peninsular Ranges, of the northern Baja California Peninsula of Mexico. The pine–oak forests extend throughout the central portion of the Mexican state of Baja California and terminate near the border with the U.S. state of California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastal sage scrub</span> Shrubland plant community of California

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.

<i>Frangula californica</i> Species of tree

Frangula californica is a species of flowering plant in the buckthorn family native to western North America. It produces edible fruits and seeds. It is commonly known as California coffeeberry and California buckthorn.

<i>Dudleya edulis</i> Species of succulent

Dudleya edulis is a species of perennial succulent plant known by the common names fingertips, lady fingers, mission lettuce and the San Diego dudleya. The common name denotes the finger-like shape of the leaves, while the specific epithet edulis refers to the use of the young scapes as food by the Kumeyaay. It is native to Southern California and northern Baja California, and grows on rocky hillsides, cliffs, and bare rock.

<i>Fremontodendron mexicanum</i> Species of shrub

Fremontodendron mexicanum is a rare species of shrub in the mallow family known by the common names Mexican flannelbush, Mexican fremontia, and Southern flannelbush, that is endemic to the central Peninsular Ranges in Mexico and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinyon–juniper woodland</span> Biome of Western United States higher elevation deserts

Pinyon–juniper woodland, also spelled piñon–juniper woodland, is a biome found mid-elevations in arid regions of the Western United States, characterized by being an open forest dominated by low, bushy, evergreen junipers, pinyon pines, and their associates. At lower elevations, junipers often predominate and trees are spaced widely, bordering on and mingling with grassland or shrubland, but as elevation increases, pinyon pines become common and trees grow closer, forming denser canopies. Historically, pinyon-juniper woodland has provided a vital source of fuel and food for peoples of the American Southwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California coastal sage and chaparral</span> Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in Mexico and the United States

The California coastal sage and chaparral is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion located in southwestern California and northwestern Baja California (Mexico). It is part of the larger California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California interior chaparral and woodlands</span> Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in California, United States

The California interior chaparral and woodlands ecoregion covers 24,900 square miles (64,000 km2) in an elliptical ring around the California Central Valley. It occurs on hills and mountains ranging from 300 feet (91 m) to 3,000 feet (910 m). It is part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, with cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Temperatures within the coast can range from 53° to 65 °F and 32° to 60 °F within the mountains. Many plant and animal species in this ecoregion are adapted to periodic fire.

<i>Hesperocyparis stephensonii</i> Californian species of western cypress

Hesperocyparis stephensonii is a species of western cypress known as the Cuyamaca cypress that is found only in two very small areas in Southern California and northwestern Baja California.

<i>Hesperocyparis nevadensis</i> Californian species of western cypress

Hesperocyparis nevadensis is a species of western cypress tree with the common name Paiute cypress native to a small area in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California in the western United States. It was formerly known as Cupressus nevadensis.

References

  1. "What is a native plant?". California Native Plant Society. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
  2. 1 2 Ornduff, Robert; Faber, Phyllis M.; Keeler-Wolf, Todd (2003). Introduction to California Plant Life . University of California Press. ISBN   978-0-520-23704-9 . Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  3. "California Floristic Province". Biodiversity Hotspots. Conservation International. Archived from the original on 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
  4. 1 2 Hickman, J.C., ed. (1993). "Appendix I". The Jepson Manual, Higher Plants of California . University of California Press. p.  1315. ISBN   9780520082557.
  5. Munz, Philip Alexander; Keck, David Daniels (1 June 1973). A California Flora . University of California Press. ISBN   978-0-520-02405-2 . Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  6. Bornstein, Carol; Fross, David; O'Brien, Bart (1 December 2005). California native plants for the garden . Cachuma Press. ISBN   978-0-9628505-8-5 . Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  7. Pavlik, Bruce M.; Muick, Pamela; Johnson, Sharon (1993). Oaks of California. Cachuma Press. ISBN   978-0962850516.
  8. Jepson Manual Quercus agrifolia
  9. Jepson Manual Salix lasiolepsis
  10. Keator, Glenn (1 March 1994). Complete Garden Guide to the Native Shrubs of California . Chronicle Books. ISBN   978-0-8118-0402-8 . Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  11. Fross, David; Wilken, Dieter (1 February 2006). Ceanothus . Timber Press. ISBN   978-0-88192-762-7 . Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  12. Keator, Glenn (1990). Complete Garden Guide to the Native Perennials of California. Chronicle Books. ISBN   978-0-87701-699-1 . Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  13. "Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants".
  14. "California Native Grasslands Association". Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  15. Crampton, Beecher (1974). Grasses in California . University of California Press. ISBN   978-0-520-02507-3 . Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  16. Alden, Peter; Heath, Fred (26 May 1998). Field Guide to California. Knopf. National Audubon Society. ISBN   978-0-679-44678-1 . Retrieved 28 January 2013.

Further reading

Books: flora

Books: gardening/landscaping