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List of California native plants

{{Short description|None}}

{{Further|List of flora of the Mojave Desert|Flora of the Sierra Nevada alpine zone}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}

File:Mentzelialindleyi.jpg)]]

File:Gentiana newberryi Sierra gentians.jpg 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.cnps.org/cnps/nativeplants/ |title=What is a native plant? |publisher=California Native Plant Society |access-date=2009-06-02}} 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.{{cite book |last1=Ornduff |first1=Robert |last2=Faber |first2=Phyllis M. |last3=Keeler-Wolf |first3=Todd |title=Introduction to California Plant Life |url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontoca00robe_0 |url-access=registration |access-date=28 January 2013 |year=2003 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-23704-9}}{{cite web |url=http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/california_floristic/ |title=California Floristic Province |work=Biodiversity Hotspots |publisher=Conservation International |access-date=2009-06-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204152251/http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/california_floristic |archive-date=2008-12-04}}

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.

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.{{cite book|editor-last=Hickman|editor-first=J.C. |year=1993 |title=The Jepson Manual, Higher Plants of California |url=https://archive.org/details/jepsonmanualhigh00hick |url-access=registration |publisher=University of California Press |chapter=Appendix I |page=[https://archive.org/details/jepsonmanualhigh00hick/page/1315 1315] |isbn=9780520082557}} 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.{{cite book |last1=Munz |first1=Philip Alexander |last2=Keck |first2=David Daniels |title=A California Flora |url=https://archive.org/details/californiafloras00phil |url-access=registration |access-date=28 January 2013 |date=1 June 1973 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-02405-2}}

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.{{cite book |last1=Bornstein |first1=Carol |last2=Fross |first2=David |last3=O'Brien |first3=Bart |title=California native plants for the garden |url=https://archive.org/details/californianative0000born |url-access=registration |access-date=28 January 2013 |date=1 December 2005 |publisher=Cachuma Press |isbn=978-0-9628505-8-5}}

Selected trees

=Coniferous trees=

==Sequoias and redwoods==

File:CA 254 Avenue of the Giants.jpg (Sequoia sempervirens)]]

  • Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) - in the fog-shrouded Pacific coast. This and the giant sequoia are the state trees of California.{{Cite web |title=California Code, GOV 422. |url=https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV§ionNum=422. |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=leginfo.legislature.ca.gov}}
  • Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) - in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

==Pine trees==

[[Pinus ponderosa, Kings Canyon National Park|thumb|right|upright]]

==Western Cypress==

File:Carmel Monterey Cypress.jpg]]

==Other conifers==

=Oak trees=

{{anchor|Oaks}}

File:Valley Oak Mount Diablo.jpg.]]

:California is home to many deciduous and evergreen oaks, often occurring in oak woodlands:

=Riparian trees=

File:Aspens in Lee Vining Creek in the Fall.jpg (Populus tremuloides) in Lee Vining Canyon|upright]]

:In riparian areas (streamside and moist habitats) some of the trees include:

=Other trees and tree-like shrubs=

Selected shrubs

{{anchor|Common Shrubs of California}}

File:Fremontodendron californicum.jpg (California flannelbush)]]

Selected desert plants

File:Joshua Tree NP - Joshua Tree 2.jpg]]

File:Larrea tridentata Anza-Borrego.jpg (Larrea tridentata)]]

{{Category see also|Flora of the California desert regions}}

Selected perennials

{{anchor|Common Perennials of California}}

File:California Buckwheat (4776487540).jpg (California buckwheat)]]

=Sunny habitats=

=Shady habitats=

=Ferns=

Selected bulbs

{{anchor|Common Bulbs of California}}

File:Brodiaeacoronaria.jpg (California hyacinth)|323x323px]]

  • Ithuriel's spear (Triteleia spp.)
  • Meadow onion (Allium monticola)
  • Goldenstar (Bloomeria crocea)
  • Brodiaea (Brodiaea spp.)
  • Blue dicks (Dipterostemon capitatus): one of the most common native bulb species throughout California; found in grassland and dry meadow habitats
  • Mariposa lily (Calochortus spp.): available from reputable horticultural sources; taking from the wild is illegal and is resulting in significant declines of some species from over collecting.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

Selected annuals and wildflowers

{{anchor|Common Annuals of California}}

Selected vines

{{anchor|Common Vines of California}}

File:Aristolochia californica flower 2004-02-23.jpg (Dutchman's pipe)|upright]]

Selected grasses

{{anchor|Common Grasses of California}}

[[Festuca californica, El Cajon|thumb|right]]

: Grasses:{{cite web |url=http://www.cnga.org/index.html |title=California Native Grasslands Association |access-date=9 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308031035/http://www.cnga.org/index.html |archive-date=8 March 2012}}

: Grasslike:{{cite book |first=Beecher |last=Crampton |title=Grasses in California |url=https://archive.org/details/grassesincalifor00beec |url-access=registration |access-date=28 January 2013 |year=1974 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-02507-3}}

Selected succulents

File:Dudleya caespitosa 5.jpg (Dudleya caespitosa)|upright]]

;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).{{cite book |via=National Audubon Society |title=Field Guide to California |first1=Peter |last1=Alden |first2=Fred |last2=Heath |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MtsTAQAAIAAJ |access-date=28 January 2013 |date=26 May 1998 |publisher=Knopf |isbn=978-0-679-44678-1}}

California also has 1,023 species of non-native plants, some now problematic invasive species, such as yellow star-thistle, 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

References

{{Reflist|2}}

Further reading

=Books: flora=

  • A California Flora and Supplement, Philip A. Munz and David D. Keck, UC Press
  • {{Cite book |last=Ritter |first=Matt |title=California Plants: A Guide to Our Iconic Flora |publisher=Pacific Street Publishing |year=2018 |location=San Luis Obispo, California |isbn=978-0-9998960-0-6}}
  • Grasses in California, Beecher Crampton, UC Press
  • The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California, James C. Hickman (Editor), UC Press
  • The Jepson Desert Manual: Vascular Plants of Southeastern California, Bruce Baldwin (Editor), UC Press
  • Oaks of California, Bruce M. Pavlik, Pamela Muick, Sharon Johnson, Cachuma Press
  • Plants of the San Francisco Bay Region: Mendocino to Monterey, Linda Beidleman, Eugene Kozloff, UC Press

=Books: gardening/landscaping=

  • Landscape Plants for California Gardens, Bob Perry, Land Design Publishing
  • California Native Plants for the Garden, Carol Bornstein, David Fross, and Bart O'Brien, Cachuma Press
  • California Native Trees and Shrubs, Lee W. Lenz, Rancho Santa Ana
  • Ceanothus, David Fross and Dieter Wilken, Timber Press
  • Complete Guide to Native Perennials of California, Glenn Keator, Chronicle Books
  • Complete Guide to Native Shrubs of California, Glenn Keator, Chronicle Books
  • Designing California Native Gardens: The Plant Community Approach to Artful, Ecological Gardens, Glenn Keator and Alrie Middlebrook, UC Press
  • Growing California Native Plants, Marjorie Schmidt, UC Press
  • Native Landscaping From El Paso to L.A., Sally Wasowski and Andy Wasowski, McGraw-Hill
  • Native Plants for California Gardens, Lee W. Lenz, Day Printing Corp.
  • Native Treasures: Gardening with the Plants of California, M. Nevin Smith, UC Press

External links

{{commons and category|Flora of California}}

  • [http://www.cnps.org CNPS—California Native Plant Society website] provides [https://www.calscape.org/ CalScape Database], an extensive database of California native plants searchable by region, as well as other useful resources.
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20181117025044/http://calflora.org/ CalFlora Database] — extensive searchable database of California native plants.
  • [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/interchange.html Jepson Manual 'Flora Interchange'] — extensive database of California native plants
  • [http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/flora/ U.C. CalPhotos: Flora homepage] — searchable images database
  • [http://www.theodorepayne.org Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants] — including horticultural information
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20120308031035/http://www.cnga.org/index.html California Native Grasslands Association] — including bunchgrass species and habitats
  • [https://www.wildflower.org/collections/ Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - Recommended Species] — provides a national searchable supplier directory for landscaping, environmental consultants, seed sources and nurseries; recommended plant lists that can be filtered to include plants native to California; and plant recommendations for specific regions of California.
  • [https://www.audubon.org/native-plants Audubon Society] — includes a national searchable database of native plants suitable for attracting wildlife, especially birds.
  • [https://plants.usda.gov/checklist.html USDA plants] — an extensive searchable national database of numerous native and non-native plants with various filters.
  • [https://www.epa.gov/eco-research/ecoregion-download-files-state-region-9#pane-04 EPA Ecoregion Research] — provides research data on ecoregion levels III and IV of California with some useful native plant information.
  • [https://nwf.org/NativePlantFinder/Plants National Wildlife Federation] — a functional national native plant database in the beta testing phase.
  • [https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt829023k3/ Eugene Otto Weber Murman Watercolors of California Flora, 1941-1961]

{{Flora of the United States by political division|state=expanded}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:California Native Plants}}

Native plants

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