John McLaren Park - San Francisco, CA

McLaren Park is named for the fabled master gardener of Golden Gate Park. It was dedicated in 1927 by John McLaren himself, who wished for a place of “unspoiled alpine joy in the City”. Soon ...more ↓

alkali desertparsley

Lomatium caruifolium is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name alkali desertparsley. It is endemic to California, where it grows in wet, grassy areas in the northern foothills and plains, such as vernal pools and other temporary and alkaline puddles. It is a perennial herb growing 15 to 45 centimeters tall from a taproot. It generally ...more ↓

blueblossom

Ceanothus thyrsiflorus (Blueblossom or Blue blossom ceanothus) is an evergreen plant in the genus Ceanothus and native to California.

Common Lomatium

Lomatium utriculatum is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name common lomatium. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a hairless to lightly hairy perennial herb growing up to half a meter tall from a slender taproot. The leaves are basal and also grow ...more ↓

purple sanicle

Sanicula bipinnatifida is a species of flowering plant in the parsley family known by the common names purple sanicle, purple blacksnakeroot, and shoe buttons. 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 grassland, woodlands, and mountain slopes of ...more ↓

Pacific aster

Symphyotrichum chilense (formerly Aster chilensis) is a species of aster known by the common names Pacific aster and common California aster. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California, where it grows in many types of habitat, especially along the coast and in the coastal mountain ranges. Despite its Latin name, it does not ...more ↓

treasureflower

Gazania linearis is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name treasureflower. It is native to southern Africa, particularly South Africa, but it can be found in other parts of the world with similar climates where it has taken hold as an introduced species, such as in California in the United States. This is a mat-forming or clumping ...more ↓

narrowleaf mule-ears

Wyethia angustifolia is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names California compassplant and narrowleaf mule's ears. It is native to the west coast of the United States from Washington to California, where it grows in grassland, meadows, and other open habitat. It is a perennial herb growing from a tough taproot and caudex unit and ...more ↓

Hillside False Bindweed

Calystegia subacaulis is a species of morning glory known by the common name hillside false bindweed. It is endemic to California, where it grows in North and Central Coast Ranges in woodland and scrub habitat. It is a hairy perennial herb growing from a woody caudex or a rhizome and extending stems no longer than about 20 centimeters. The leaves are 3 or 4 centimeters ...more ↓

giant horsetail

Equisetum telmateia (great horsetail or northern giant horsetail) is a species of Equisetum (horsetail) with an unusual distribution, with one subspecies native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa, and a second subspecies native to western North America. The North American subspecies is often simply but ambiguously called "giant horsetail", ...more ↓

black medick

Medicago lupulina L. (Black Medic, sometimes spelled Medick or Meddick) is a summer annual or perennial plant sometimes considered a weed. It has a tap root. Like other legumes, it has three leaflets; its center leaflet is on a separate petiole. As with other legumes, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, known as rhizobia, are found in nodules on the roots.

tomcat clover

Trifolium willdenovii, or Tomcat clover, is a species of plant in the pea family Fabaceae. This species occurs in the western part of North America. As an example occurrence, it is found in the California Coast Ranges in such places as Ring Mountain, California, where it is found in association with Cup clover.

Long-beaked Stork's Bill

Erodium botrys is a species of flowering plant in the geranium family known by the common names long-beaked stork's bill and broadleaf filaree. This is a weedy annual herb which is native to much of Eurasia and North Africa but is found in many other areas of the world as an introduced species, including Australia, New Zealand, and parts of the Americas. The plant ...more ↓

toad rush

Juncus bufonius, known commonly as toad rush, is a common species of rush found worldwide. It grows in moist and muddy places and is considered a weed in many areas. This is an annual monocot that is quite variable in appearance. It is sometimes described as a complex of variants labeled with one species name. It is generally a green clumping grasslike rush with many thin ...more ↓

Pacific woodrush

Luzula comosa is a species of flowering plant in the rush family known by the common name Pacific woodrush. It is native to western North America from Alaska to California to Colorado, where it can be found in moist spots in forests and meadows and many other types of habitat. It is a perennial herb quite variable in appearance, often forming small, narrow grasslike ...more ↓

coastal onion

Allium dichlamydeum is a species of wild onion known by the common name coastal onion. It is endemic to California where it grows on sea cliffs on the coastline in the northern half of the state.

dwarf brodiaea

Brodiaea terrestris or by its common name dwarf brodiaea is a species of plant in the genus Brodiaea that is native to California and Oregon.

Big Quakinggrass

Briza maxima is a species of the genus Briza, as such it is an annual grass in the family Poaceae. It is native to Northern Africa, the Azores, Western Asia and Southern Europe and is cultivated or naturalised in the British Isles, Australasia, the west of the United States, Central and South America and Hawaii. This species has a large number of common names including Big ...more ↓

California oat grass

Danthonia californica is a species of grass known by the common name California oatgrass. This plant is native to two separate regions of the Americas, western North America from California to Saskatchewan, and Chile. This is a clumping erect perennial grass with stems approaching a meter in height at maximum. The leaves are flat and short and may be hairy or hairless. ...more ↓

big squirreltail

Elymus multisetus is a species of wild rye known by the common name big squirreltail. It is native to the western United States where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a perennial grass reaching 60 centimeters in maximum height. The inflorescence is an array of spikelets each with several long, hairlike awns which may be up to 20 centimeters long.

California fescue

Festuca californica is a species of grass known by the common name California fescue. It is native to the US states of California and Oregon where it is a member of many plant communities, including chaparral. This fescue is a clumping perennial without rhizomes. It reaches anywhere from 40 to 120 centimeters in height. The rough leaves are narrow but can be quite long. ...more ↓

Meadow barley

Hordeum brachyantherum is a species of barley known by the common name meadow barley. It is native to western North America from Alaska to northern Mexico, far eastern Russia, and parts of eastern North America. It can be found in other parts of the world as an introduced species. This is a tufting perennial grass approaching a meter in maximum height. It produces ...more ↓

june grass

Koeleria macrantha is a species of grass known by the common name prairie Junegrass. In the UK it is known as Crested hair-grass. It is native to much of North America, from Alaska to northern Mexico to the eastern United States. It occurs in a large number of habitat types, especially prairie. This is a short, tuft-forming perennial grass, reaching heights from 20 to 70 ...more ↓

California melic

Melica californica is a species of grass known by the common name California melic. It is native to Oregon and California, where it grows in many types of habitat, from mountain forests to open grassland at sea level. It is a perennial grass, generally with rhizomes, producing a dense cluster of stems up to about 1.3 meters in maximum height. The inflorescence is a narrow ...more ↓

seaside wild buckwheat

Eriogonum latifolium is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names seaside buckwheat and coast buckwheat. This plant is native to the coastline of the western United States from Washington to central California, where it is a common resident of coastal bluffs and scrub. This is a perennial herb which is quite variable in size, its height dependent in ...more ↓

California Polypody

Polypodium californicum is a species of fern known by the common name California polypody. It is native to Baja California and California, where it grows along the coastline as well as in moist spots in coastal foothills and mountain ranges in the southern part of its distribution. This polypody anchors with a scaly rhizome. It produces oval to triangular leaves up to 70 ...more ↓

Hollyleaf cherry

Prunus ilicifolia (Hollyleaf cherry or Evergreen cherry; Salinan Native American: Islay) is a species in the genus Prunus, native to coastal California and northern Baja California.

dwarf orthocarpus

Triphysaria pusilla is a species of flowering plant in the broomrape family known by the common name dwarf owl's clover. It is native to the west coast of North America from British Columbia to central California, where it grows in moist open habitat such as spring-wet grasslands. It an annual herb producing a hairy brownish or purple-colored, multibranched stem up to ...more ↓

American brooklime

Veronica americana, variously called American brookline or American speedwell, is a plant native to temperate and arctic Asia and North America where it grows in streams and bottomlands.

Red Valerian

Centranthus ruber, also called Valerian or Red valerian is a popular garden plant grown for its ornamental flowers. Other common names include Jupiter's Beard.

white ramping fumitory

Fumaria capreolata is an annual plant in the poppy family, Papaveraceae. It is native to northern Africa, western Asia and Europe and naturalised in southern Australia, New Zealand, and southern South America. Common names include climbing fumitory, ramping fumitory, white fumitory, white ramping fumitory and white-flower fumitory.

Baltic rush

Juncus balticus is a species of rush known by the common name Baltic rush.

California barberry

The shrub California barberry has two Latin names used by botanists, Berberis pinnata and Mahonia pinnata. The genus Mahonia is sometimes considered to be part of Berberis. Other common names for this species are wavyleaf barberry and shinyleaf mahonia. It is a dark green bush which resembles holly with its serrated ...more ↓

Tall Flatsedge

Cyperus eragrostis is a species of sedge known by several common names, including tall flatsedge and pale galingale. It is a green sedge with tall, erect stems, and long, thin, pointed leaves. Its flowers are found within tough, rounded, greenish-yellow or beige spikelets. This species is originally native to the western United States but it has become naturalized ...more ↓

Common Three-Square

Schoenoplectus pungens (syn. Scirpus pungens) is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common name Common Three-Square. It is a herbaceous emergent plant that is native to the Americas, Europe, Australasia, and elsewhere.

amole

Chlorogalum pomeridianum, the Wavy-leafed Soap Plant or California soaproot, is the most common and most widely distributed of the Soap Plants, Soaproots or Amoles, which make up the genus Chlorogalum of flowering plants. It is found in most of California, apart from the Sierra Nevada and the deserts, and also in south-western Oregon. It is occasionally ...more ↓

Juncus phaeocephalus

The Brown-headed Rush, Juncus phaeocephalus, is native mostly along the coast of California. It grows in moist seeps and shallow wet soil. This plant is perennial with creeping rhizomes. It has flattened stems that are two-edged and can grow up to 1.5 feet tall. Its leaves are shorter than its flowering stems. Brown-head Rush can be easily mistaken from sedges or irises ...more ↓

coast fiddleneck

Amsinckia menziesii var. intermedia (Common Fiddleneck, or Intermediate Fiddleneck) is a species of plant in the Boraginaceae family (also called the Borage or Forget-me-not family). It is one of the common fiddlenecks of western North America, distributed from Alaska and Canada through the contiguous United States to Mexico. Like other members of the genus, it has ...more ↓

water parsley

Oenanthe sarmentosa is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name water parsley. It is native to western North America from Alaska to California, where it grows in wet areas, such as streambanks. It is sometimes aquatic, growing in the water. The plant has been used in cultivation in wetlands, and the recent discovery of several colonies ...more ↓

Isolepis cernua

Isolepis cernua grows along temperate coastlines of Australia, flowering from September to March.

Alameda thistle

Cirsium quercetorum is a species of thistle which is endemic to the coast of California. Its common names include brownie thistle and Alameda thistle. This perennial plant grows clumped low to the ground, has spiny lobed toothy leaves and spiny thistle flowers which may be brownish dirty white to purple. This is a common plant found in grassy areas in coastal ...more ↓

Seaside Woolly Sunflower

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 ...more ↓

coast rock cress

Arabis blepharophylla is a species of rock cress known by the common names coast rock cress and rose rock cress. It is endemic to California, growing mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area and nearby low-elevation coast ranges. It is uncommon in the wild but is often grown as an attractive, sweet-scented flowering garden plant. The plant sends up thin, hairy stems ...more ↓

sandcarpet

Cardionema ramosissimum is a beach-dwelling plant of the pink family, Caryophyllaceae, which is known by the common name sandcarpet. This is a flat or clumping mat-forming perennial plant which grows along the coastline of western North America, as well as Chile. From a taproot it extends many petite to sprawling stems up to 30 centimeters long and covered in very tiny ...more ↓

Yellow Bush Lupine

Lupinus arboreus (Yellow Bush Lupine) is a species of lupine native to the western United States in California, where it is widely distributed 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.

Varied Lupine

Lupinus variicolor, varied lupine, manycolored lupine, Lindley's varied lupine or varicolored lupine is a shrub in the lupine (lupin) genus Lupinus.

bull mallow

Malva nicaeensis is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common name bull mallow. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa, and it is known on other continents as an introduced species and sometimes a weed. It is an annual or biennial herb producing a hairy, upright stem up to 60 centimeters long. The leaves are up to 12 centimeters wide and have ...more ↓

red fescue

Festuca rubra is a species of grass known by the common name red fescue. It is found worldwide and can tolerate many habitats and climates; it generally needs full sun to thrive. It is a nutritious and palatable forage grass for domestic and wild animals. It is used as a turfgrass and groundcover and can be left completely unmowed for a lush prairie-like look. There are ...more ↓

Calamagrostis nutkaensis

Calamagrostis nutkaensis is a species of grass known by the common names Pacific reedgrass and Nootka reedgrass.

California sheepburr

Acaena pinnatifida is a species of perennial plant found in coastal scrub areas in California.

Argentinian biddy biddy

Acaena pinnatifida is a species of perennial plant found in coastal scrub areas in California.

Himalayan Blackberry

Rubus armeniacus (Armenian Blackberry or Himalayan Blackberry); syn. R. discolor Weihe & Nees nom. illeg., R. procerus auct. non P.J.Muell., is a species of Rubus in the blackberry group Rubus subgenus Rubus series Discolores (P.J. Müll.) Focke. It is native to Armenia in southwest Asia, and widely naturalised ...more ↓

Pale Pink-sorrel

Oxalis incarnata is a species of flowering plant in the woodsorrel family known by the common names pale pink-sorrel and crimson woodsorrel. It is native to southern Africa, but it can be found on other continents where it is an introduced species, often the descendent of garden escapees. It is grown and kept as an ornamental plant. This is a perennial herb growing ...more ↓

western rush

Juncus occidentalis is a species of rush known by the common name western rush. It is native to the western United States, where it grows in wet areas in many types of habitat. This is a bunching perennial herb with thin, stiff stems reaching maximum heights between 30 and 60 centimeters. The wispy leaves grow from the base of the stem and may approach half the stem's ...more ↓

Belladonna Lily

Amaryllis (pronounced /ˌæməˈrɪlÉ™s/) is a also known as the Belladonna Lily or naked ladies. The genus has two species and the more famous of the two, Amaryllis belladonna, is a native of South Africa, particularly the rocky southwest region near the Cape. It should not be confused with Hippeastrum, a flowering bulb commonly sold in the winter ...more ↓

Bristly Ox-Tongue

Picris echioides, bristly ox-tongue, is a stiff annual or biennial herb native to Europe and North Africa. It was traditionally used as an antihelminthic treatment .

Sydney Golden Wattle

Acacia longifolia is a species of Acacia native to southeastern Australia, from the extreme southeast of Queensland, eastern New South Wales, eastern and southern Victoria, and southeastern South Australia. Common names for it include Acacia Trinervis, Aroma Doble, Golden Wattle, Sallow Wattle and Sydney Golden Wattle. It is not listed ...more ↓

Greenspot Nightshade

Solanum douglasii is a species of nightshade known by the common name greenspot nightshade. It is native to the northern half of Mexico and the southwestern south-central United States. Its habitat includes scrub and woodland. It is a perennial herb or subshrub approaching two meters in maximum height. The stem is coated in short, white hairs. The leaves may be up to 9 ...more ↓

hairy woodsorrel

Oxalis albicans, commonly known as Hairy Woodsorrel, White Oxalis, Radishroot Woodsorrel or Radishroot Yellow-sorrel, is a perennial herb that is native to the state of California and surrounding regions in the United States of America and northern Mexico. It grows in the northern coastal scrub and coastal sage scrub habitats as well as chaparral of the state, from ...more ↓

Parsley-piert

Aphanes occidentalis is a species of plant in the Rosaceae family. It is native to California. There is some confusion about the varieties and species in Aphanes, but the Second Edition of the Jepson Manual recognizes this species.

sun cup

Camissonia ovata is a species of wildflower native to California and Oregon known by the common name goldeneggs or sun cup.

scouler's willow

Salix scouleriana (Scouler's Willow; syn. S. brachystachys Benth., S. capreoides Anderss., S. flavescens Nutt., S. nuttallii Sarg., S. stagnalis Nutt.) is a species of willow native to western North America, from south central Alaska east to western Northwest Territory, central Manitoba, and the Black Hills of South Dakota, and south ...more ↓

colonial bent

Agrostis capillaris (Common Bent,Colonial bent, Browntop) is a rhizomatous and stoloniferous perennial in the grass family (Poaceae). It is native to Eurasia and has been widely introduced in many parts of the world. Colonial bent grows in moist grasslands and open meadows, and can also be found in agricultural areas, roadsides, and invading disturbed ...more ↓

sweet vernal grass

Anthoxanthum odoratum, known as sweet vernal grass, holy grass, vanilla grass or buffalo grass, is a short-lived perennial grass found wild in acidic grassland in Eurasia. It is also grown as a lawn grass and a house plant, due to its sweet scent, and can also be found on unimproved pastures and meadows. 'Odoratum' is Latin for 'smell as well'.

mirror bush

Coprosma repens is a shrub or small tree that is native to New Zealand. Common names include Taupata, Mirror Bush, Looking-glass Bush, New Zealand Laurel and Shiny Leaf.

fairy crassula

Crassula multicava is a perennial succulent plant from the family Crassulaceae. It is also known under various common names including the fairy crassula, pitted crassula and London pride.

Horseweed

Conyza canadensis (formerly Erigeron canadensis L.) is an annual plant native throughout most of North America and Central America. Common names include Horseweed, Canadian Horseweed, Canadian Fleabane, Coltstail, Marestail and Butterweed.

Opposite-leaved tarweed

Hemizonella minima (syn. Madia minima) is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name opposite-leaved tarweed.

Australian tea tree

Leptospermum laevigatum, commonly known as the Coastal Tea Tree is a woody shrub or small tree of the myrtaceae family native to eastern Australia. Salt-resistant and very hardy, it is commonly used in amenities plantings and coastal plantings. it has also been used in Western Australia where it has become a weed. This species is also planted along the Central Coast of ...more ↓

Water Cress

Watercresses (Nasturtium officinale, N. microphyllum; formerly Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum, R. microphylla) are fast-growing, aquatic or semi-aquatic, perennial plants native from Europe to central Asia, and one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by human beings. These plants are members of the Family Brassicaceae or cabbage family, botanically ...more ↓

orange daylily

Hemerocallis fulva is a species of Hemerocallis, native to Asia from the Caucasus east through the Himalaya to China, Japan, Korea, and southeastern Russia.

Solanum laxum

Solanum laxum, commonly known as potato vine, potato climber or jasmine nightshade, is an evergreen vine in the family Solanaceae. It is native to South America and commonly grown as an ornamental garden plant.

San Francisco rush

Juncus lesueurii is a species of rush known by the common names Lesueur's Rush and Salt Rush (not to be confused with Saltmarsh Rush, J. gerardii).

purple needlegrass

Nassella pulchra, basionym Stipa pulchra, is a species of grass known by the common name purple needlegrass. It is native to California, where it occurs throughout the coastal hills, valleys, and mountain ranges, as well as the Sacramento Valley and parts of the Sierra Nevada foothills, and Baja California.

Baby sage

Salvia microphylla (Baby sage, Graham's sage, Blackcurrant sage) is a perennial shrub found in the wild in southeastern Arizona and the mountains of eastern, western, and southern Mexico. It is a very complex species which easily hybridizes, resulting in numerous hybrids and cultivars brought into horticulture since the 1990s. The specific epithet, ...more ↓

California manroot

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.

Indian strawberry

Potentilla indica (formerly Duchesnea indica), also called mock strawberry, Gurbir, Indian strawberry or false strawberry, has foliage and fruit similar to true strawberry, though it is classified in a different genus, and has yellow flowers, unlike the white or slightly pink flowers of true strawberries. It is native to eastern and southern ...more ↓

Monterey Cypress

Cupressus macrocarpa, commonly known as Monterey cypress, is a species of cypress that is endemic to the Central Coast of California. The native range of the species was confined to two small relict populations, at Cypress Point in Pebble Beach and at Point Lobos near Carmel, California. These two stands represent what was once a very large forest on the west coast. The ...more ↓

Edited by Ken McGary, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)