Plant Profile: Buckbrush (Ceanothus cuneatus)
Karen Also known as wedgeleaf ceanothus, this evergreen shrub is native to Oregon, California, and northern Baja California, where it grows in several habitats, especially chaparral. It is a member of…
Plant Profile: White Flowering Currant (Ribes indecorum)
Also called white chaparral currant, this deciduous shrub is native to Baha California and coastal areas of California. It is a member of the currant family, Grossulariaceae, that consists of…
Plants for a Plant Zoo: Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata aka Cassia fasciculata aka Cassia chamaecrista)
Also known as prairie senna, golden cassia, large-flowered sensitive pea, sleeping plant, and locust weed, this herbaceous annual is native to eastern North America and provides cover and food for…
Plant Profile: Threenerve Goldenrod (Solidago veluntina)
Native to western US and the northern half of Mexico, this herbaceous perennial is a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes sunflower, dandelion, and lettuce. With a…
Plant Profile: California Coffee Berry (Frangula californica aka Rhamnus californica)
Native to California, southwestern Oregon, Arizona and Baja California, this large evergreen shrub grows in open woodland, brush canyon sides, and chaparral. It is a member of the buckthorn family,…
Plant Profile: Hollyleaf Redberry (Rhamnus ilicifolia)
This evergreen shrub is native to western North American where it grows in chaparral and wooded areas in Oregon, California, Baja California and Arizona. It is a member of the…
Plant Profile: Bunchleaf Penstemon (Penstemon heterophyllus)
Also known as foothills penstemon and foothills beardtongue, this evergreen herbaceous perennial is endemic to California where it grows in grassland, chaparral, and forests of all of the major coastal…
Butterflies In The Garden and How to Attract Them: Common Sulphur (Colias philodice)garden
The common sulphur probably was originally a northern and eastern species but it has now spread and can be found coast to coast except in southern California, south Texas, and…
Plant Profile: Spreading Dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium)
Also called fly-trap dogbane and bitterroot, this lanky herbaceous perennial is a member of the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, that also includes milkweed, bluestar, periwinkle, and oleander. It is native to…
Plant Profile: Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Buttonbush, also called honey-bells and button-willow, is a deciduous shrub or small tree native to wetlands such as swamps, marshes, riverbanks, and floodplains from New Brunswick and Minnesota south to…