This is a guide to the plant life of Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve in the Berkeley and Oakland hills.
For more information on the Preserve, please visit ...more ↓
Acacia (/əˈkeɪʃə/ or /əˈkeɪsiə/), also known as a thorntree, whistling thorn or wattle, is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, described by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773 based on the African species Acacia nilotica. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority ...more ↓
Clover (Trifolium), or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the leguminous pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes on mountains in the tropics. They are small annual, ...more ↓
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 ...more ↓
Lupinus albifrons, Silver lupine, white-leaf bush lupine, or evergreen lupine, is a species of lupine (lupin). It is native to California and Oregon, where it grows along the coast and in dry and open meadows, prairies and forest clearings. It is a member of several plant communities, including coastal sage scrub, chaparral, northern coastal scrub, foothill ...more ↓
Genista monspessulana (syn. Cytisus monspessulanus or Teline monspessulana) also known as French broom, Cape broom and Montpellier broom, is a woody perennial shrub and a legume. The species is native to the Mediterranean region, and is considered an invasive plant in most places where it has been introduced.
Cytisus scoparius, the common broom or Scotch broom, syn. Sarothamnus scoparius, is a perennial leguminous shrub native to western and central Europe. In Britain and Ireland, the standard name is broom, but this name is also used generically for other related species (see broom), and the term common broom is sometimes used for clarification. In ...more ↓
Vicia sativa, known as the common vetch, tare or simply "the vetch", is a nitrogen fixing leguminous plant. Although considered a weed when found growing in a cultivated grainfield, this hardy plant is often grown as green manure or livestock fodder. There is no firm evidence that this is the same as the "tare" in some English translations of the Bible (as ...more ↓
Cotoneaster /kəˈtoʊniːˈæstər/ is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, native to the Palaearctic region (temperate Asia, Europe, north Africa), with a strong concentration of diversity in the genus in the mountains of southwestern China and the Himalayas. They are related to hawthorns (Crataegus), firethorns (Pyracantha), photinias ...more ↓
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of plants that can be erect shrubs, climbing or trailing with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers vary in size and shape and are usually large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows and reds. Most species are native ...more ↓
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 ...more ↓
Heteromeles arbutifolia (/ˌhɛtɨrɵˈmiːliːz ɑrˌbjuːtɨˈfoʊliə/; more commonly /hɛtəˈrɒməliːz/ by Californian botanists), commonly known as Toyon, is a common perennial shrub native to California down to Baja California.
Scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis; also known as red pimpernel, red chickweed, poorman's barometer, poor man's weather-glass,shepherd's weather glass or shepherd's clock) is a low-growing annual plant. The native range of the species is Europe and Western and North Africa. The species has been distributed widely by humans, either ...more ↓
Vinca major, with the common names bigleaf periwinkle, large periwinkle, greater periwinkle and blue periwinkle, is species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae, native to the western Mediterranean. Growing to 25 cm (10 in) tall and spreading indefinitely, it is an evergreen perennial, frequently used in cultivation as groundcover.
Galium is a large genus of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Rubiaceae, occurring in the temperate zones of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Some species are informally known as bedstraw.
Rumex acetosella is a species of sorrel, bearing the common names sheep's sorrel, red sorrel, sour weed, and field sorrel. The plant and its subspecies are common perennial weeds. It has green arrowhead-shaped leaves and red-tinted deeply ridged stems, and it sprouts from an aggressive and spreading rhizome. The flowers emerge from a tall, upright ...more ↓
Rumex crispus ("curly dock" or "yellow dock") is a perennial flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to Europe and Western Asia.
Chickweed occurs either as an annual species or as a short-lived perennial (3), and produces several generations a year, each one flowering after just 5 weeks of growth (1). It can remain green and often in flower throughout winter (4). The flowers are visited by many small flies and bees (2). A single plant may produce around 2,500 reddish-brown seeds, which can remain viable in the soil for ...more ↓
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 ...more ↓
Taraxacum officinale, the common dandelion (often simply called "dandelion"), is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant of the family Asteraceae (Compositae). It can be found growing in temperate regions of the world, in lawns, on roadsides, on disturbed banks and shores of water ways, and other areas with moist soils. T. officinale is considered a weed, ...more ↓
Baccharis pilularis, called Coyote Brush (or Bush), Chaparral Broom, and Bush Baccharis, is a shrub in the Asteraceae that grows in California, Oregon, Baja California, and New Mexico....
Silybum marianum has other common names include cardus marianus, milk thistle, blessed milk thistle, Marian Thistle, Mary Thistle, Saint Mary's Thistle, Mediterranean milk thistle, variegated thistle and Scotch thistle. This species is an annual or biannual plant of the Asteraceae family. This fairly typical thistle ...more ↓
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, ...more ↓
Artemisia californica, also known as California sagebrush, of the Asteraceae family, is a shrub that grows in coastal sage scrub, coastal strand, chaparral, and dry foothill communities, from sea level to 800 m (2600 ft.). It is native to California and Baja California.
Artemisia douglasiana (California Mugwort, Douglas's Sagewort or Dream Plant) is a non-seeding aromatic shrub in the genus Artemisia. It is native to western North America, in the Western United States and into Baja California, Mexico.
Artemisia vulgaris (mugwort or common wormwood) is one of several species in the genus Artemisia commonly known as mugwort, although Artemisia vulgaris is the species most often called mugwort. This species is also occasionally known as felon herb, chrysanthemum weed, wild wormwood, old Uncle Henry, sailor's tobacco, naughty man, old man or St. John's ...more ↓
Carduus pycnocephalus, with common names including Italian thistle, Italian plumeless thistle, and Plymouth thistle, is a species of thistle. It is native to: the Mediterranean region in southern Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia; East Europe and the Caucasus; and the Indian Subcontinent.
Ageratina adenophora (syn. Eupatorium adenophorum) is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by many common names, including eupatory, sticky snakeroot, crofton weed, and Mexican devil.
Oxalis pes-caprae (Bermuda buttercup, African wood-sorrel, Bermuda sorrel, Buttercup oxalis, Cape sorrel, English weed, Goat's-foot, Sourgrass, Soursob and Soursop; (Afrikaans: Suring) ) is a species of tristylous flowering plant in the wood sorrel family Oxalidaceae. Oxalis cernua is a less ...more ↓
Toxicodendron diversilobum, commonly named Pacific poison oak or western poison oak (syn. Rhus diversiloba), is in the Anacardiaceae family (the sumac family).
Acer macrophyllum (bigleaf maple or Oregon maple) is a large deciduous tree in the genus Acer.
Aesculus californica (California Buckeye or California Horse-chestnut) is a species of buckeye that is native to California and southwest Oregon, and the only buckeye native to these states.
The Tasmanian Blue Gum, Southern Blue Gum or Blue Gum, (Eucalyptus globulus) is an evergreen tree, one of the most widely cultivated trees native to Australia. They typically grow from 30 to 55 m (98 to 180 ft) tall. The tallest currently known specimen in Tasmania is 90.7 m tall (297 ft). There are historical claims of even taller trees, the tallest being 101 m ...more ↓
Quercus agrifolia, the Coast Live Oak, is an evergreen oak (highly variable and often shrubby), 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).
Quercus suber, commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section Quercus sect. Cerris. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa.
Myosotis latifolia is a species of forget-me-not known by the common name broadleaf forget-me-not. It is native to northwestern Africa, and it is known elsewhere as an introduced species, including the west coast of the United States. It grows in many types of habitat, including moist, shaded, disturbed areas. It is a perennial herb sometimes exceeding half a meter in ...more ↓
Scrophularia californica is a flowering plant in the figwort family which is known by the common names California figwort and California bee plant.
Stachys is one of the largest genera in the flowering plant family Lamiaceae. Estimates of the number of species in the genus vary from about 300, to about 450. The type species for the genus is Stachys sylvatica.Stachys is in the subfamily Lamioideae.Generic limits and relationships in this subfamily are poorly known.
Marrubium vulgare (white horehound or common horehound) is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to Europe, northern Africa and Asia.
Plantago lanceolata is a species of genus Plantago known by the common names ribwort plantain, English plantain, buckhorn plantain, narrowleaf plantain, ribleaf and lamb's tongue. It is a common weed of cultivated land.
Mimulus aurantiacus, the sticky monkey-flower or orange bush monkey-flower, is a flowering plant that grows in a subshrub form, native to southwestern North America from southwestern Oregon south through most of California. It is treated by some botanists in a separate genus from other Mimulus as Diplacus aurantiacus.
Fumaria (fumitory or fumewort, from Latin fūmus terrae, "smoke of the earth") is a genus of 50 species of annual flowering plants native to Europe, Africa and Asia, most diverse in the Mediterranean region, and introduced to North and South America and Australia.Fumaria indica contains the alkaloids fuyuziphine and alpha-hydrastine.Fumaria ...more ↓
Eschscholzia californica (California poppy, golden poppy, California sunlight, cup of gold) is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to the United States and Mexico, and the official state flower of California.
Ranunculus californicus, the California buttercup, is a flowering plant of the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is a native of California, where it is common in many habitats, including chaparral and woodlands.
Symphoricarpos Duhamel:
China (Asia)
United States (North America)
Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.
Osmorhiza is a genus of perennial herbs, known generally as Sweet Cicely or Sweetroot. Most species are native to North America, but some grow in South America and Asia. Some species are used for medicinal purposes, but have dangerous lookalikes. The seeds of this plant have barbs on the end allowing them to stick to clothing, fur, or feathers.
Heracleum maximum, Cow Parsnip (also known as Indian Celery or Pushki) is the only member of the genus Heracleum native to North America. Its classification has caused some difficulty, with recent authoritative sources referring to it variously as Heracleum maximum or Heracleum lanatum , as H. linatum, or as either a subspecies, ...more ↓
Sanicula crassicaulis is a species of flowering plant in the parsley family known by the common names Pacific sanicle and Pacific blacksnakeroot. It is native to the west coast of North America from British Columbia to Baja California, where it can be found in many types of habitat, including mountain slopes, grassland, and woodlands. It is a perennial herb ...more ↓
Hedera helix (common ivy, English ivy, European ivy, or just ivy) is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae, native to most of Europe and western Asia. A rampant, clinging evergreen vine, it is a familiar sight in gardens, waste spaces, on house walls, tree trunks and in wild areas across its native habitat. It is labeled as an invasive ...more ↓
The Malvaceae, or the mallows, are a family of flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2,300 species. Well-known members of this family include okra, cotton, and cacao. The largest genera in terms of number of species include Hibiscus (300 species), Sterculia (250 species), Dombeya (225 species), Pavonia (200 species), and ...more ↓
Umbellularia californica is a large hardwood tree native to coastal forests of California and slightly extended into the state of Oregon. It is endemic to the California Floristic Province. It is the sole species in the genus Umbellularia.
Euphorbia peplus (petty spurge,radium weed,cancer weed, or milkweed) is a species of Euphorbia, native to most of Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia, where it typically grows in cultivated arable land, gardens, and other disturbed land.
Capsella bursa-pastoris, known by its common name shepherd's-purse because of its triangular, purse-like pods, is a small (up to 0.5m) annual and ruderal species, and a member of the Brassicaceae or mustard family. It is native to eastern Europe and Asia minor but is naturalized and considered a common weed in many parts of the world, especially in colder climates, ...more ↓
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 ↓
The radish (Raphanus sativus) is an edible root vegetable of the Brassicaceae family that was domesticated in Europe in pre-Roman times. They are grown and consumed throughout the world. Radishes have numerous varieties, varying in size, color and duration of required cultivation time. There are some radishes that are grown for their seeds; oilseed radishes are grown, as the ...more ↓
Marah fabaceus, the California Manroot or Bigroot, is the most common of the manroot species native to California. Its range throughout the state subsumes nearly the entire ranges of all the other California native manroots species and intergrades. Hybrids between California manroot and the other species are common.
Bromus diandrus is a species of grass known by the common names great brome and "ripgut brome".
Sisyrinchium bellum (Western Blue-eyed Grass, Californian Blue-eyed Grass) is the common blue-eyed grass of California and Oregon in and west of the Sierra Nevada, its range extending south into Baja California. In parts of its range, Western Blue-eyed Grass has previously been classified as Sisyrinchium eastwoodiae, S. greenei and S. ...more ↓
Dichelostemma capitatum (syn. D. pulchellum), called Blue dicks, Purplehead and Brodiaea (alternate spellings, Brodiea, Brodeia) occur in Arizona, California, Oregon, Utah, New Mexico, and northern Mexico.
Prosartes is a genus of flowering plants in the lily family. For several decades plants of this genus were included in genus Disporum. Studies of morphology and cytology, as well as genetic analysis, show these North American plants to be different from the Asian genus Disporum, and they were separated again in 1995.Prosartes included five species until ...more ↓