Los Osos Elfin Forest - Vascular Plants

Lupinus arboreus, yellow bush lupine (USA) or tree lupin (UK), is a species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae, native to California, where it is widely distributed among coastal scrub and sand dunes. Because it has been widely introduced, there is some uncertainty about its native range; it is thought to be native from Point Reyes National Seashore south to San Luis Obispo County. less ↑

Lupinus bicolor is a species of lupine known as the miniature lupine, Lindley's annual lupine, or bicolor lupine. It is a showy flowering plant native to western North America from California to British Columbia. It is an annual lupine which often shares a habitat with the California poppy. It has a short, hairy stem and thin, palmately-arranged leaves. The inflorescence is short for a lupine at up to 8 centimeters tall. As its name suggests the... less ↑

Astragalus pomonensis is a species of milkvetch known by the common name Pomona milkvetch. It is native to Baja California and southern California, where it can be found in a number of coastal habitats, including the California Coast Ranges. This is a bushy perennial herb forming a clump of thick, hollow stems up to about 80 centimeters tall. Leaves are up to 20 centimeters long and are made up of many oval-shaped leaflets each up to... less ↑

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 dry areas of California, Arizona, and Mexico. It is commonly found in many areas including chaparral, coastal sand and roadsides at elevations below 1500 m. less ↑

Prunus ilicifolia (Common names: "Hollyleaf cherry", "Evergreen cherry"; "Islay" - Salinan Native American) is an evergreen shrub to tree, producing edible cherries, with shiny and spiny toothed leaves similar in appearance to holly. It is native to the chaparral areas of coastal California and northern Baja California, as well as the desert chaparral areas of the Mojave desert. less ↑

Rubus ursinus is a species of blackberry or dewberry known by the common names California blackberry, California dewberry, Douglas berry, Pacific blackberry or Pacific dewberry and trailing blackberry. It is native to western North America. This is a wide, spreading shrub or vine-bearing bush with prickly branches that can tip layer to spread vegetatively. Its white flowers may be distinguished from those of other blackberries by their narrow petals. The species is dioeocious, with male and... less ↑

Argentina anserina, also known as common silverweed, silverweed cinquefoil or just "silverweed", is a flowering perennial plant in the rose family Rosaceae. It is native throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere, often on river shores and in grassy habitats such as meadows and road-sides. The plant was formerly classified in the genus Potentilla but was reclassified into the resurrected genus Argentina by research in the 1990s. less ↑

Urtica dioica, often called common nettle or stinging nettle (although not all plants of this species sting), is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant, native to Europe, Asia, northern Africa, and North America, and is the best-known member of the nettle genus Urtica. The species is divided into six subspecies, five of which have many hollow stinging hairs called trichomes on the leaves and stems, which act like hypodermic needles, injecting histamine and other chemicals that produce... less ↑

Parietaria hespera is a species of flowering plant in the nettle family known by the common name rillita pellitory. It is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, where it grows in many types of habitat, from coast to desert, dry to moist, and sometimes in disturbed areas. It is an annual herb taking an erect or spreading form up to half a meter long or forming a mat or dense tangle. The stems... less ↑

Crassula connata is a succulent plant known by the common names sand pygmyweed and pygmy stonecrop. It is a very small plant which grows in patches on the ground, especially in rocky areas. It is also sometimes associated with vernal pool plant communities. The stems are a few centimeters in length and are covered with tiny fleshy pointed leaves. Each leaf is only millimeters long. The plant is green when new and it matures to shades... less ↑

Eriogonum parvifolium is a species in the Polygonaceae family that occurs on dune formations in the coastal area of Central and Southern California. This evergreen shrub grows to a height of 30 to 100 centimeters with a spread of approximately the same dimension. This plant is an important host for a number of pollinating insects including certain endangered species. E. parvifolium occurs both on bluffs along the Pacific Ocean coast as well as Coastal Strand dunes... less ↑

Chorizanthe angustifolia is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name narrowleaf spineflower. It is endemic to California, where it is known only from the coastline of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties, but is locally common. This small, hairy herb sends out prostrate inflorescences along the sandy soil of its habitat, each no longer than about 10 centimeters. The inflorescence is a headlike cluster of several pink flowers,... less ↑

Chorizanthe diffusa is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name diffuse spineflower. It is endemic to California, where it grows on the coastline and mountains of the Central Coast, in sandy scrub, woodland, and forest habitat. It is erect to prostrate in form, its stem generally no longer than 15 or 20 centimeters. The leaves are up to 2 centimeters long and mainly arranged about the base of the... less ↑

Atriplex watsonii is a species of saltbush known by the common name Watson's saltbush, or Watson's orach. It is native to the coastline of California and Baja California, where it grows in coastal areas with saline soils, such as salt marshes and beach scrub, with other halophytes such as saltgrass. It extends inland in the Los Angeles Basin, and along the Santa Ana River. less ↑

Polycarpon depressum is a species of flowering plant in the pink family known by the common name California manyseed. It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in sandy habitat such as coastal bluffs and disturbed habitat types such as fields and roadsides. It is a small annual herb producing a spreading, branching stem just a few centimeters long that lies prostrate on the ground. A few pairs of oppositely arranged leaves... less ↑

Calandrinia ciliata is a species of flowering plant in the purslane family known by the common name fringed redmaids. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to New Mexico, where it is widespread and common. It can also be found in parts of Central and South America. This is an annual herb which varies greatly in size from a small patch a few centimeters wide to an erect form approaching 40 centimeters tall.... less ↑

Claytonia perfoliata (miner's lettuce, winter purslane, or Indian lettuce; syn. Montia perfoliata) is a fleshy annual plant native to the western mountain and coastal regions of North America from southernmost Alaska and central British Columbia south to Central America, but most common in California in the Sacramento and northern San Joaquin valleys. less ↑

Achillea millefolium, known commonly as yarrow /ˈjæroʊ/ or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Asia, Europe, and North America. In New Mexico and southern Colorado, it is called plumajillo (Spanish for 'little feather') from its leaf shape and texture. In antiquity, yarrow was known as herbal militaris, for its use in stanching the flow of blood from wounds. Other common names... less ↑

Anapahlis margaritacea, commonly known as the western pearly everlasting, is a flowering perennial plant in the Asteraceae family. Since it is the only North American species it is often simply called pearly everlasting in the United States and Canada. However, it is also native to Asia and has been widely introduced in Europe. It grows erect up to heights of about 1.2 meters and has narrow, alternate leaves. One salient feature is that the undersides of... less ↑

Senecio blochmaniae is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name dune ragwort. It is endemic to the Central Coast of California, where it is known only from the direct coastline of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. It grows in sand dunes and sandy areas on coastal floodplains. It is a subshrub producing several arching stems often well exceeding a meter tall from a thick taproot. The... less ↑

Senecio californicus is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name California ragwort. It is native to California as far north as the San Francisco Bay Area, and Baja California. It grows in sandy areas in several habitat types, and it is often seen at the coast in habitat such as sand dunes. It is an annual herb growing 10 to 40 centimeters tall or sometimes taller, from a taproot.... less ↑

Eriophyllum multicaule is a flowering plant in the daisy family which is known by the common name manystem woolly sunflower. It is native to California, and its range may extend into Arizona. It can be found in chaparral habitat, especially along the California coast. This is a small clumpy annual herb with fleshy stems and foliage in shades of bright green to purplish green. The small leaves are about one centimeter long, sometimes woolly, and shaped... less ↑

Eriophyllum stoechadifolium (also, E. staechadifolium) is a flowering plant in the daisy family which is known by the common name seaside woolly sunflower. It is native to the coastline of Oregon and California as far south as the Channel Islands. This is a plant of the beaches, dunes, and coastal scrub. It is variable in size, its height depending in part on its exposure to harsh coastal wind and saline spray. It may reach anywhere from... less ↑

Stephanomeria virgata, commonly called twiggy wreath plant, virgate wirelettuce, and rod wirelettuce, is a herbaceous annual plant of the sunflower family, Asteraceae. It can be found growing in Western North America, specifically California, but also in Oregon and Nevada and northern Mexico. This plant can be found in dry, open habitat types at elevations below 2100 meters. S. virgata is sometimes used as an ornamental plant. less ↑

Ericameria ericoides is a species of flowering shrub in the daisy family known by the common names Mock Heather, California goldenbush and California heathgoldenrod. This plant is endemic to California, where it grows in the sand dunes and coastal hills between the northern San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles area. This shrub rarely approaches a maximum height of one meter and is densely foliated with comblike fans of small cylindrical leaves up to a... less ↑

Heterotheca grandiflora is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name telegraphweed. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, but it can be found in other areas as an introduced species, such as Hawaii. It is a roadside weed even where it is native. This is a tall, bristly, glandular plant exceeding a meter in height and densely foliated in hairy to spiny toothed or lobed... less ↑

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 oases in Southern California. It occurs in riparian zone habitats at an altitudes range of 100–2,400 metres (330–7,900 ft). While not reported in northern Baja California, it has been predicted on the basis of its climatic adaptation to occur there less ↑

Pholisma arenarium is a species of flowering plant in the borage family known by several common names, including desert Christmas tree, scaly-stemmed sand plant, and purple sand food. It is native to northwestern Mexico, Arizona and southern California, where it grows in many habitat types, including desert, chaparral, and sandy coastal dunes. It is a fleshy perennial herb taking a compact cylindrical or ovate shape up to 20 or 30 centimeters tall above ground, often with... less ↑

Orobanche fasciculata is a species of broomrape known by the common name clustered broomrape. It is native to much of western and central North America from Alaska to northern Mexico to the Great Lakes region, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a parasite growing attached to the roots of other plants, usually members of the Asteraceae, such as Artemisia, Eriodictyon, and Eriogonum. This plant produces one or more stems from a thick... less ↑

Salvia columbariae is an annual plant that is commonly called chia, golden chia, and desert chia, because its seeds are used in the same manner as Salvia hispanica (chia). It grows in California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Sonora, and Baja California, and was an important food for Native Americans. Some native names include pashí from Tongva and it'epeš from Ventureño. less ↑

Scutellaria tuberosa is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name Danny's skullcap. It is native to western North America from Oregon through California to Baja California, where it is widespread throughout the mountain and coastal regions; it is absent from the deserts and the Central Valley of California. It can be found in forest and woodland habitat, and a variety of open habitat types, often appearing in areas recently... less ↑

Cuscuta salina is a species of dodder known by the common name salt marsh dodder. It is native to western North America, where it lives in seasonal alkaline or saline habitats such as vernal pools and salt flats. It is a parasitic plant, wrapping itself around wetland vegetation and tapping them for nutrients with its haustoria. This is a slender annual vine extending yellowish thready stems to wrap tightly around other plants. The leaves are rudimentary... less ↑