Southern California

Catclaw Acacia

Senegalia greggii is a species of Senegalia native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, from the extreme south of Utah (where, at 37°10' N it is the northernmost naturally occurring Senegalia species anywhere in the world) south through southern Nevada, southeast California, Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas to Baja California, Sinaloa and ...more ↓

Arizona lupine

Lupinus arizonicus (Arizona lupine) is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts, where it can be found growing in open places and sandy washes below 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) elevation. It is common around Joshua Tree National Park and Death Valley National Park in California.

Pacific pea

Lathyrus vestitus is a species of wild pea known by the common name Pacific pea. It is native to western North America, where it is mostly found in the forests, woodlands, and chaparral of California. The ranges of some subspecies extend into Oregon and Baja California. This is a perennial pea vine which varies in appearance across subspecies. Leaves are made up of ...more ↓

Smoke Tree

Psorothamnus spinosus, known as the smokethorn, smoketree, smoke tree, smokethorn dalea, and corona de Cristo, is a perennial legume tree of the deserts in North America.

Pride of Bolivia

Tipuana tipu, also known as tipa, rosewood and pride of Bolivia, is a South American tree. It is the only member of the genus Tipuana. It was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic Pterocarpus clade within the Dalbergieae.

California Wild Rose

Rosa californica, the California wildrose, or California rose, is a species of rose native to the U.S. states of California and Oregon and the northern part of Baja California, Mexico. The plant is native to chaparral and woodlands and the Sierra Nevada foothills, and can survive drought, though it grows most abundantly in moist soils near water sources.

Indian Hawthorn

Rhaphiolepis indica, the Indian hawthorn, India hawthorn or Hong Kong hawthorn, is an evergreen shrub in the family Rosaceae. The species is native to an area from southern China, Japan, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. It is grown for its decorative pink flowers, and is popular in bonsai culture. The fruit is edible when cooked, and can be used to make ...more ↓

Toyon

Heteromeles arbutifolia (/ˌhɛtɪroʊˈmiːliːz ɑːrˌbjuːtɪˈfoʊliə/; more commonly /ˌhɛtəˈrɒməliːz/ by Californian botanists), commonly known as toyon, is a common perennial shrub native to extreme southwest Oregon, California, Baja California, and British Columbia. It is the sole species in the genus Heteromeles.

chamise

Adenostoma fasciculatum (chamise or greasewood) is a flowering plant native to Oregon, Nevada, California, and northern Baja California. This shrub is one of the most widespread plants of the chaparral biome.

pointleaf manzanita

Arctostaphylos pungens, with the common name pointleaf manzanita, is a species of manzanita. It is native to the Southwestern United States and to northern and central Mexico, where it grows in chaparral and woodland habitats, and on desert ridges. Arctostaphylos pungens can be seen growing at Tent Rocks National Monument in New Mexico at an elevation of about 6000 ...more ↓

ocotillo

Fouquieria splendens (commonly known as ocotillo American Spanish: , but also referred to as coachwhip, candlewood, slimwood, desert coral, Jacob's staff, Jacob cactus, and vine cactus) is a plant indigenous to the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Desert in the Southwestern United States (southern Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, ...more ↓

California Barrel Cactus

Ferocactus cylindraceus is a species of barrel cactus which is known by several common names, including California barrel cactus, Desert barrel cactus, and miner's compass. It was first described by George Engelmann in 1853.

Beavertail Pricklypear

Opuntia basilaris, the beavertail cactus or beavertail pricklypear, is a cactus species found in the southwest United States. It occurs mostly in the Mojave, Anza-Borrego, and Colorado Deserts, as well as in the Colorado Plateau and northwest Mexico. It is also found throughout the Grand Canyon and Colorado River region as well as into southern Utah and Nevada, and ...more ↓

Teddybear Cholla

Cylindropuntia bigelovii, the teddy bear cholla, is a cholla cactus species native to Northwestern Mexico, and to the United States in California, Arizona, and Nevada.

Silver Cholla

Cylindropuntia echinocarpa is a species of cactus known by the common names silver cholla, golden cholla, and Wiggins' cholla. It was formerly named Opuntia echinocarpa....

Branched Pencil Cholla

Cylindropuntia ramosissima is a species of cactus known by the common names diamond cholla and branched pencil cholla.

Santa Cruz Island wild buckwheat

Eriogonum arborescens is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Santa Cruz Island buckwheat....

California Buckwheat

Eriogonum fasciculatum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names California buckwheat and eastern Mojave buckwheat.

desert sand verbena

Abronia villosa is a species of sand-verbena known by the common names desert sand-verbena and chaparral sand-verbena. It is in the four o'clock plant family (Nyctaginaceae). It is native to the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico and the southern California and Baja coast.

saltcedar

Tamarix ramosissima, commonly known as saltcedar or salt cedar, is a deciduous arching shrub with reddish stems, feathery, pale green foliage, and characteristic small pink flowers.

Fourwing Saltbush

Atriplex canescens, chamiso, chamiza, four wing saltbush, four-wing saltbush, and fourwing saltbush, is a species of evergreen shrub in the Amaranthaceae family, which is native to the western and mid-western United States.

Perez's sea lavender

Limonium perezii is a species of sea lavender known by the common name Perez's sea lavender. It is native to the coasts of the Canary Islands.

jojoba

Jojoba /həˈhoʊbə/ ( listen), with the botanical name Simmondsia chinensis, and also known as goat nut, deer nut, pignut, wild hazel, quinine nut, coffeeberry, and gray box bush, is native to Southwestern North America. Simmondsia chinensis is the sole species of the family Simmondsiaceae, placed in the order ...more ↓

California sagebrush

Artemisia californica, also known as California sagebrush, is a species of western North American shrubs in the sunflower family.

Big Sagebrush

Artemisia tridentata, commonly called big sagebrush,:264 Great Basin sagebrush:264 or (locally) simply sagebrush, is an aromatic shrub from the family Asteraceae, which grows in arid and semi-arid conditions, throughout a range of cold desert, steppe, and mountain habitats in the Intermountain West of North America. The vernacular name "sagebrush" is also ...more ↓

Baccharis

Baccharis /ˈbækərɪs/ is a genus of perennials and shrubs in the aster family (Asteraceae). They are commonly known as baccharises but sometimes referred to as "brooms", because many members have small thin leaves resembling the true brooms. They are not at all related to these however, but belong to an entirely different lineage of eudicots. B. halimifolia is ...more ↓

coyote brush

Baccharis pilularis, called coyote brush (or bush), chaparral broom, and bush baccharis, is a shrub in the daisy family native to California, Oregon, Washington, and Baja California. There are reports of isolated populations in New Mexico, most likely introduced.

alkali goldenbush

Isocoma acradenia is a North American species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name alkali goldenbush.

giant coreopsis

Coreopsis gigantea with the common name giant coreopsis, is a woody perennial plant native to coastal regions of central and southern California and also to northern Baja California.

California brittlebush

Encelia californica is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name California brittlebush. It is also commonly referred to as "California bush sunflower".

Brittlebush

Encelia farinosa (commonly known as brittlebush or brittlebrush), is a common desert shrub of northern Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa, and Hidalgo) and the southwestern United States (California, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada).

Hairy Desertsunflower

Geraea canescens, commonly known as desert sunflower, hairy desert sunflower, or desert gold, is an annual plant in the family Asteraceae. "Geraea" in its scientific name comes from the Greek geraios ("old man"), referring to the white hairs on the fruits.

Turtleback

Psathyrotes ramosissima is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name velvet turtleback, or turtleback. It is native to the southwestern United States where it grows in desert scrub habitat. It is a low, neatly mounded plant producing spreading stems which are hairless to densely woolly in texture. Leaves are borne on long petioles. ...more ↓

Spanish needle

Palafoxia arida is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, known by the common names desert palafox and Spanish needle.

lemonade berry

Rhus integrifolia, also known as lemonade sumac, lemonade berry, or lemonadeberry, is a shrub to small tree. It is native to the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges and the South Coast regions of Southern California. This extends from Santa Barbara County and the Channel Islands to San Diego County and extending into north-central Pacific coastal Baja ...more ↓

Brazilian pepper

Schinus terebinthifolia is a species of flowering plant in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae, that is native to subtropical and tropical South America (southeastern Brazil, northern Argentina, and Paraguay). It is found in these states of Brazil: Alagoas, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Pernambuco, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande ...more ↓

eucalyptus

Eucalyptus /ˌjuːkəˈlɪptəs/ L'Héritier 1789 is a diverse genus of flowering trees and shrubs (including a distinct group with a multiple-stem mallee growth habit) in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia, and include Eucalyptus regnans, the tallest known flowering plant on Earth. There are more than 700 species of ...more ↓

Nuttall's scrub oak

Quercus dumosa is a species of plant in the Fagaceae family. This tree goes by the common names coastal sage scrub oak, Nuttall's scrub oak, and California scrub oak.

MacDonald Oak

Quercus × macdonaldii, formerly Quercus macdonaldii, with the common names MacDonald's oak and Macdonald oak, is a rare species of oak in the Fagaceae family.

coast live oak

Quercus agrifolia, the California live oak, or coast live oak, is a highly variable and often shrubby evergreen oak native to the California Floristic Province. It grows west of the Sierra Nevada from Mendocino County, California, south to northern Baja California in Mexico. It is classified in the red oak section (Quercus sect. Lobatae).

interior live oak

Quercus wislizeni, known by the common name interior live oak, is an evergreen oak, highly variable and often shrubby, found in many areas of California in the United States continuing south into northern Baja California in Mexico. It generally occurs in foothills, being most abundant in the lower elevations of the Sierra Nevada, but also widespread in the Pacific Coast ...more ↓

canyon live oak

Quercus chrysolepis, commonly termed canyon live oak, canyon oak, golden cup oak or maul oak, is a North American species of evergreen oak that is found in Mexico and in the western United States, notably in the California Coast Ranges. This tree is often found near creeks and drainage swales growing in moist cool microhabitats. Its leaves are a ...more ↓

white alder

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 (330–7,870 ft). While not ...more ↓

Olive

The olive, known by the botanical name Olea europaea, meaning "European olive", is a species of small tree in the family Oleaceae, found in the Mediterranean Basin from Portugal to the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, and southern Asia as far east as China, as well as the Canary Islands and Réunion. The species is cultivated in many places and considered naturalized in all ...more ↓

Cape Honeysuckle

Tecoma capensis (common name Cape honeysuckle) is a species of flowering plant in the family Bignoniaceae, native to southern Africa. Despite its common name, it is not closely related to the true honeysuckle.

ribwort plantain

Plantago lanceolata is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It is known by the common names ribwort plantain, narrowleaf plantain, English plantain, ribleaf and lamb's tongue. It is a common weed of cultivated land.

tree tobacco

Nicotiana glauca is a species of wild tobacco known by the common name tree tobacco. Its leaves are attached to the stalk by petioles (many other Nicotiana species have sessile leaves), and its leaves and stems are neither pubescent nor sticky like Nicotiana tabacum. It resembles Cestrum parqui but differs in the form of leaves and fusion of the outer ...more ↓

coast morning glory

Calystegia macrostegia, with the common names island false bindweed and island morning glory, is a species of morning glory in the Convolvulaceae family.

fennel

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized in many parts of the world, especially on dry soils near the sea-coast and on riverbanks.

Arroyo Willow

Salix lasiolepis (arroyo willow) is a species of willow native to western North America.

castor bean

Ricinus communis, the castor bean or castor-oil-plant, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus, Ricinus, and subtribe, Ricininae. The evolution of castor and its relation to other species are currently being studied using modern genetic tools. It reproduces ...more ↓

Matted Sandmat

Euphorbia serpens is a species of euphorb known by the common name matted sandmat. It is native to South America but it can be found on most continents as an introduced species and often a weed. This is an annual herb forming a mat of prostrate stems which root at nodes where the stem comes in contact with the ground. The oval leaves occur in oppositely arranged pairs, ...more ↓

Hairy Yerba Santa

Eriodictyon trichocalyx is a species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common name hairy yerba santa.

western sycamore

Platanus racemosa is a species of plane tree known by several common names, including California sycamore, western sycamore, California plane tree, and in North American Spanish aliso. Platanus racemosa is native to California and Baja California, where it grows in riparian areas, canyons, floodplains, at springs and seeps, and along streams ...more ↓

European Searocket

Cakile maritima (European searocket), is a common plant in the mustard family. It is widespread in Europe, North Africa and western Asia, especially on coastlines. It can now be found in many other areas of the world where it has been introduced. It is an inhabitant of the west and east coasts of North America, where it has the potential to become a noxious weed. This is ...more ↓

Shortpod Mustard

Hirschfeldia incana (formerly Brassica geniculata) is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by many common names, including shortpod mustard, buchanweed, hoary mustard and Mediterranean mustard. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Hirschfeldia, which is closely related to Brassica. The species ...more ↓

wild radish

The radish (Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus) is an edible root vegetable of the Brassicaceae family that was domesticated in Europe in pre-Roman times. Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, being mostly eaten raw as a crunchy salad vegetable. They have numerous varieties, varying in size, flavor, color, and length of time they take to mature. Radishes ...more ↓

Chilicothe

Marah macrocarpus or Marah macrocarpa, the Chilicothe, wild cucumber, or bigroot, is a species of the Marah genus....

American sweetgum

American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), also known as American storax, hazel pine, bilsted, redgum, satin-walnut, star-leaved gum, alligatorwood, or simply sweetgum, is a deciduous tree in the genus Liquidambar native to warm temperate areas of eastern North America and tropical montane regions of Mexico and ...more ↓

Pampas Grass

Cortaderia selloana, commonly known as pampas grass, is a flowering plant native to southern South America, including the Pampas region after which it is named. There are around 25 species in the genus Cortaderia.

Spreading Rush

Juncus patens is a species of rush, known by the common names spreading rush and California grey rush....

Joshua Tree

Yucca brevifolia is a plant species belonging to the genus Yucca. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca.

Mojave Yucca

Yucca schidigera, also known as the Mojave yucca or Spanish dagger, is a flowering plant that is native to the Mojave Desert, Chihuahuan Desert and Sonoran Desert of southeastern California, Baja California, New Mexico, southern Nevada and Arizona.

American century plant

Agave americana, common names sentry plant, century plant, maguey or American aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Agavaceae, native to Mexico, and the United States in New Mexico, Arizona and Texas. Today, it is cultivated worldwide as an ornamental plant. It has become naturalized in many regions, including the West Indies, parts of ...more ↓

chaparral yucca

Hesperoyucca whipplei (syn. Yucca whipplei ) (chaparral yucca, our Lord's candle, Spanish bayonet, Quixote yucca or foothill yucca is a species of flowering plant closely related to, and formerly usually included in, the genus Yucca. It is native to southern California, United States and Baja California, Mexico, where it occurs ...more ↓

California fan palm

Washingtonia filifera, also known as desert fan palm, California fan palm or California palm, is a flowering plant in the palm family (Arecaceae) native to the far southwestern United States and Baja California. Growing to 15–20 m (49–66 ft) tall by 3–6 m (10–20 ft) broad, it is an evergreen monocot with a tree-like growth habit. It has a sturdy, columnar ...more ↓

Edited by Alex Lamoreaux, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)