Horticultural selection from salvia leucophylla. This is a low growing, evergeen shrub that produces beautiful pinkish-purple flowers in a circular bunch along the stem. The leaves are light green with a bumpy textured surface. The shrubs can grow to 3 or 4 feet tall and span up to six feet wide. They prefer well-drained soils or rocky hillscapes. The flowers are a great attractor of pollinators, including: birds, bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. They do well in full-sun or part-shade, proving to be both cold- and drought-tolerant.

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Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selection for the garden. Introduced by sunset Nurseries.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected for the garden.

Horticultural selection from Salvia leucophylla from Pt. Sal, in the southern part of the central coast, just south of san Luis Obispo. One of the best Calfornia native groundcovers. This low-growing groundcover is a perfect selection for full-sun or part-shade areas. The 'Point sal' variety is a grayish-green leaved, multi-blossomed salvia hybrid that exhibits low water needs and has little demand in terms of maintenace. The flowers can be pruned in late fall to produce a good flush in the spring. The lavender flowers are arranged in a circular pattern around the green stems. The flowers attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Black sage is the most common sage in California. Though less showy than other salvia species and cultivars, it is an important food source for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. The flowers are small and pale blue-lavender in color. After blooming, black sage seeds provide food for birds, including quail and towhees.

A black sage shrub can grow up to 6 feet tall and 10 feet wide. In the garden, this aromatic plant prefers full sun and well-draining soil. It is a low-moisture plant, requiring no supplemental water once established. It is usual for the small, dark green leaves to curl during summer drought.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selected by David Amme from the mouth of Little sur River.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Horticultural selection from salvia mellifera from Big sur on the central California coast. This low-spreading, mounding sage is an especially drought-tolerant variety and recommended for slopes or difficult, erosion-prone areas. The pale white flowers are formed in a semi-circular fashion and are arranged in tufts on the long, upright stems. The shrubs reach about 1 foot tall, with about a six foot spread. The evergreen leaves are fragrant and add contrast to the beautiful flowers which are loved by butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected for the garden. Introduced by Rancho santa Ana Botanic Garden.

Horticultural selection from salvia munzii. This salvia is a small mounding plant with beautiful green foliage and pretty blue flowers. It is a great addition for a bird garden as birds love the blue flowers that come every blooming season. Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Salvia pachyphylla (Blue sage, Mountain desert sage) is a perennial shrub native to California, Nevada, and Arizona. In California, it grows between 5,000 to 10,000 ft (1,500 to 3,000 m) elevation on dry rocky slopes, blooming from July to September. It reaches 1 to 2 ft (0. 30 to 0. 61 m) high, with blue-violet flowers, rarely rose, growing in dense clusters. In the course of a study of the chemical composition of the flora used in Latin American popular medicine, Ivan C. Guerrero and coworkers have performed phytochemical studies of extracts of the aerial parts from Salvia pachyphylla and Salvia clevelandii . S. pachyphylla is used by indigenous communities for its medicinal properties in the treatment of flu symptom. The major secondary metabolites isolated from these species and the cytotoxic effects against five human cancer cells were reported for eight of the compounds obtained: carnosol, rosmanol, 20-deoxocarnosol, carnosic acid, isorosmanol, 7-methoxyrosmanol, 5,6-didehydro-O-methylsugiol, 8ß-hydroxy-9(11),13-abietadien-12-one, 11,12-dioxoabieta-8,13-diene, and 11,12-dihydroxy-20-norabieta-5(10),8,11,13-tetraen-1-one and pachyphyllone.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden by Kent Calkin, Creative Landscape Consultants, introduced by Cal Flora Nursery.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selection from the Cuesta Grade in san Luis Obispo Co.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. From a collection made by Avis Keedy near Lake Cachuma in santa Barbara Co.and introduced by santa Barbara Botanic Garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade or shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden. Introduced by Las pilitas Nursery.

Horticultural selection from salvia spathacea. This salvia is larger than the straight Hummingbird sage species. 'Powerline Pink' has large spikes of pink flowers and a strong, delightful fragrance. Due to the masses of tall flower spikes, it is a great addition to a bird garden. This plant is special in the garden because it can take both shade and low-water conditions. It is ideal under oaks. Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden. Introduced by Las pilitas Nursery.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden (from santa Monica Mountains).

Attractive, hardy, and easy to grow, the Blue Elderberry is also an important food source for California wildlife. In spring, large clusters of cream-colored flowers attract butterflies and bees. The abundant blue berries provide food for birds and other animals. Humans can eat the fruit as long as it's cooked.

This fast-growing shrub is tolerant of a variety of growing conditions, although it does best in sun and well-drained moist, rich soil. It can grow to the size of a small tree, up to 30 feet tall but is easily shaped with pruning.

Sambucus racemosa is a species of elderberry known by the common names red elderberry and Red-berried Elder. It is native to Europe, northern temperate Asia, and North America across Canada and the United States. It grows in riparian environments, woodlands, and other habitats, generally in moist areas. Sambucus racemosa is often a treelike shrub growing 2-6 metres (6. 6-19. 7 ft) tall. The stems are soft with a pithy center. Each individual leaf is composed of 5 to 7 leaflike leaflets, each of which is up to 16 centimeters long, lance-shaped to narrowly oval, and irregularly serrated along the edges. The leaflets have a strong disagreeable odor when crushed. The inflorescence is a vaguely cone-shaped panicle of several cymes of flowers blooming from the ends of stem branches. The flower buds are pink when closed, and the open flowers are white, cream, or yellowish. Each flower has small, recurved petals and a star-shaped axis of five white stamens tipped in yellow anthers. The flowers are fragrant and visited by hummingbirds and butterflies. The fruit is a bright red or sometimes purple drupe containing 3 to 5 seeds. Varieties and subspecies are: Sambucus racemosa subsp. kamtschatica - red elder, native to Northeastern Asia. Sambucus racemosa var. melanocarpa - Rocky Mountain elder, native to the Western United States and Western Canada, including the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada. Sambucus racemosa subsp. pubens - American red elder, native to Eastern North America
Sambucus racemosa subsp. racemosa - European red elder. Sambucus racemosa var. racemosa - Pacific red elderberry. Sambucus racemosa subsp. sibirica - red elder, native to Siberia. Sambucus racemosa subsp. sieboldiana - Japanese red elder

Sambucus racemosa is cultivated as an ornamental plant, for use as a shrub or small tree in traditional and wildlife gardens, and natural landscape design projects. Cultivars in the nursery trade include: Sambucus racemosa 'Black Lace' - burgundy foliage, Sambucus racemosa 'Lemon Lace' - golden yellow and green foliage, Sambucus racemosa 'Lemony Lace' - golden green foliage, with red new growth, Sambucus racemosa 'Sutherland Gold' - green foliage, with bronze new growth. It received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Sanicula tuberosa is a species of flowering plant in the parsley family known by the common name turkey pea. It is native to western North America from Oregon through California to Baja California, where it can be found in many types of habitat, including chaparral, forests, and woodlands. It is variable in appearance. In general, it is a perennial herb producing a slender stem up to 80 centimeters long from a small, spherical tuber no more than 2 centimeters wide. The leaves are compound, divided into usually three leaflets which are smooth or deeply cut into lobes. The herbage is green to purple in color. The inflorescence is made up of one or more heads of bisexual and male-only flowers with tiny, curving, yellow petals. The fruits are 1 or 2 millimeters long and covered in bumpy tubercles.

Hardstem bulrush (Schoenoplectus acutus), known as tule in California, is a tall, perennial sedge native to freshwater marshes across North America. It belongs to the Cyperaceae family and thrives in wetland environments, forming dense stands along shorelines. The plant has thick, rounded green stems with long, grass-like leaves that grow in clusters. These dense stands create a natural buffer against wind and water forces, reducing shoreline erosion and helping to stabilize wetland ecosystems.

Hardstem bulrush provides essential habitat for a variety of wildlife. Red-winged blackbirds commonly nest among the stalks, while reptiles and amphibians find shelter within the dense vegetation. Fish use the submerged stems and root systems as nursery areas, benefiting from the protection provided by the plant’s structure. Additionally, Hardstem Bulrush contributes to water filtration by working with symbiotic microbes to sequester excess nutrients, improving water quality in wetland areas.

For Indigenous peoples, tule has been a valuable resource for thousands of years. The plant is traditionally harvested to make sleeping mats, baskets, cordage, and even canoes. It is also used to construct walls for homes and serves as a food source. These cultural practices highlight the ecological and practical significance of this native wetland plant.

Schoenoplectus americanus (syn. Scirpus americanus) is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names chairmaker's bulrush and Olney's three-square bulrush. It is native to the Americas, where it is known from Alaska to Nova Scotia and all the way into southern South America; it is most common along the East and Gulf Coasts of the United States and in parts of the western states. It grows in many types of coastal and inland wetland habitat, as well as sagebrush, desert scrub, chaparral, and plains. This rhizomatous perennial herb easily exceeds two meters in height. The stiff stems are sharply three-angled and usually very concave between the edges. Each plant has three or fewer leaves which are short and narrow. The inflorescence is a small head of several spikelets which may be brown to bright orange, red, purplish, or pale and translucent. They have hairy edges. The fruit is a brown achene. The plant reproduces sexually by seed and colonies spread via vegetative reproduction, sprouting from the rhizomes. This plant, particularly the rhizomes, are a food source of muskrat, nutria, and other animals; it is strongly favored by the snow goose in its wintering grounds.

California bee plant (Scrophularia californica) is a perennial in the Figwort family (Scrophulariaceae). The flowers are red to maroon and are so small that they are easy to miss. The wedge -shaped light green leaves are much larger than the flowers.

As the name suggests, bees are extremely attracted to the flowers. An important food source for small wasps and hummingbirds, it is also a host plant for the Chalcedon Checkerspot and Common Buckeye butterflies.

Bee plant grows in several habitats, including Wetland-Riparian, Coastal Sage Scrub, Pine Forests, Chaparral, and Redwood Forest. In moist soils it will form large colonies, but it can also successfully be grown in a pot.

Plant bee plant in the back of a perennial border where the tall stems won't block out shorter perennials, and where it can blend in when not in flower. Bee Plant flowers look like small, red jewels when backlit by the sun.

Scrophularia lanceolata is a species of flowering plant in the figwort family known by the common name lanceleaf figwort. It is native to North America, where it is known from western and eastern Canada and much of the United States except for the southeastern quadrant. It grows in many types of habitat, sometimes including disturbed areas such as roadsides. It is a perennial herb producing clusters of erect or spreading stems up to 1. 5 meters long. The oppositely arranged leaves have toothed, triangular or lance-shaped blades up to 14 centimetres (5. 5 in) long which are borne on short petioles. The inflorescence is a wide-open panicle with several hairy, glandular branches bearing flowers. The flower has a spherical or urn-shaped corolla opening at the top into a narrow mouth edged with hoodlike lobes. The corolla is roughly 1-1. 5 centimetres (0. 39-0. 59 in) long and is greenish tinged with brown or dull pink. The wide staminode is generally visible in the mouth of the corolla. The fruit is a capsule just under a centimeter long containing many seeds.

Salazaria mexicana, commonly known by variants on bladder sage or paperbag bush, is a shrub of the mint family Lamiaceae distinctive for its calyx lobes that develop into small bag- or bladder-like shells around the fruits. Widespread in the southwestern part of North America, it is the only member of its genus. This plant takes the form of a rounded shrub, typically 50-100 centimeter high, sometimes larger. The stems form a spreading rigid pattern, with the tips often becoming spine-like. The leaves are small, 3-15 millimeter long and 2-8 millimeter wide, ovate to elliptic, entire, and with a very short or nonexistent petiole. The 2-lipped flowers develop in pairs facing away from each other; the upper lip is white to light violet and hairy, while the lower lip is 3-lobed and intense dark violet. The calyx starts out as simply a base to the flower, reddish-purple in shade, and then as the flower ages, it expands into its distinctive bag shape, 1-2 centimeter across, the dried flower eventually falling out of the hole in the end.

Sedum divergens, commonly called spreading stonecrop, Cascade stonecrop, and Pacific stonecrop, is a low growing flowering plant of the genus Sedum. It is native to western North America from Alaska to northern California. This plant is common in the lava beds of Northwest British Columbia where it is one of the food plants of the Nisga'a first nation.

Sedum oreganum is a species of succulent plant of the genus Sedum. It grows along the Pacific Coast of North America from Alaska to far northern California. The plant, known by the common name Oregon stonecrop, grows in many types of rocky habitat, including coastal bluffs and cliffs and the talus of higher inland mountains. Media related to Sedum oreganum at Wikimedia Commons

Yellow Stonecrop (Sedum spathulifolium) is a native perennial herb in the Crassulaceae (Stonecrop) family that is found in rocky or mountainous areas over a large part of the state, but more commonly in northern California. It is also found northward to British Columbia. It tends to grow in a hanging or sprawling manner on the face of cliffs or steep rocky outcrops, often in shade, at elevations from 0-7500 feet. The leaves are somewhat thick and succulent. In spring the plant puts up an erect flower stalk with diminutive yellow flowers. This succulent works well in rock gardens in northern California. Plant at an angle so that water does not collect on the crown. In its native setting this plant receives abundant moisture in winter/spring, then remains relatively dry through summer. It is evergreen but may shrivel somewhat in summer.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected by Jenny Flemming from the salmon Mountains in northwestern California.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selection from port Orford, Oregon.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected for the garden.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected for the garden.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected for the garden.

Sedum stenopetalum is a species of flowering plant in the stonecrop family known by the common name wormleaf stonecrop. It is native to western North America from British Columbia and Alberta to northern California to Wyoming. It can be found in many types of rocky habitat, such as cliffs, talus, and steep ridges. It is a succulent plant producing mats or clumps of lance-shaped, linear, or three-lobed leaves each under 2 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a short, erect array of one to many flowers with lance-shaped petals up to a centimeter long. The petals are yellow, sometimes with red veins.

Selaginella bigelovii is a species of spikemoss known by the common names bushy spikemoss and Bigelow's spikemoss. It is native to California and Baja California, where it grows in rocky places in many different habitat types, from the coastline to the mountains to the deserts. This lycophyte forms clumps of spreading upright to erect stems up to 20 centimeters long with a few short lateral branches. The linear or lance-shaped green leaves are up to 4 millimeters long, including the tiny rigid bristles at their tips. They are flattened to the stem or stick out just a little. The strobili borne at the leaf bases are yellow-orange in color.

Senecio flaccidus, formerly recorded as Senecio douglasii (in honor of the botanist David Douglas) member of the daisy family and genus Senecio also known as Threadleaf Groundsel (and Bush Senecio, Creek Senecio, Shrubby Butterweed, Comb Butterweed, Smooth Threadleaf Ragwort, Mono Ragwort, Douglas Ragwort, Douglas Groundsel, Sand Wash Groundsel, Felty Groundsel, Old Man, Yerba Cana, Squawweed or Cenicillo) is a native of the southwestern Great Plains of North America. Threadleaf ragwort is a fast growing, short lived (3 to 6 years) bushy perennial shrub growing to 4 feet 6 inches ; common in gravelly washes, dry creek beds, along roads & trails and mostly away from the coast.

Douglas' Groundsel (Senecio flaccidus var. douglasii) is a native shrub that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in dry and rocky or sandy places, at elevations from 0-6500 feet.

Catclaw (Senegalia greggii) is a shrub in the Legume family known for its fragrant fuzzy flowers and spines on its branches. The genus Senegalia was formerly classified with the Acacias, and some sources still refer to it by that name. Common names for this species include Catclaw Acacia, Catclaw Mesquite, Gregg's Catclaw, Devil's Claw, Paradise Flower, and Wait-a-minute Bush.

Plant away from places where the spines can catch you. It can make a good barrier planting.

Birds use this plant for shelter and building nests. The fruit is a legume pod valued by wildlife.

Senna armata is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names spiny senna and desert senna. It is native to the desert regions around the intersection of Nevada, Arizona, eastern California and northern Baja California, where it grows in sandy and rocky habitat, such as arroyos. It is a shrub growing up to a meter tall, its grooved, branching stems often narrowing to thorns at their tips. The spiny branches are coated in tubular hairs which help protect it from hot desert air. The spine-tipped leaves are each made up of two to four pairs of small leaflets. The leaves are ephemeral, dropping soon after emerging, leaving the shrub naked most of the time. Flowers occur singly or in small clusters in leaf axils. They are fragrant and showy, with five petals in shades of yellow to salmon pink, each measuring roughly a centimeter long. The fruit is a legume pod up to 4 centimeters long.

Senna covesii (Desert Senna, Coues' Senna, Rattleweed, "rattlebox", "dais" or "Cove Senna") is a perennial subshrub in the family Fabaceae, native to the Mojave Desert in southeastern California, southern Nevada, and Arizona in the United States, and northern Baja California in Mexico. It is found on desert plains and in sandy washes between 500-600 meter altitude, and very common in Joshua Tree National Park, and is also found in the Sonoran Desert. The specific name honors ornithologist Elliott Coues. It grows to 30-60 centimeter tall, and is leafless most of the year. The leaves are pinnate, 3-7 centimeter long, with 2-3 pairs of leaflets (no terminal leaflet), the leaflets elliptical, 1-2.5 centimeter long. The flowers are yellow in color, with five rounded petals about 12 millimeter long.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected for the garden.

Silver Buffaloberry is a species in the Elaeaginaceae (Oleaster) family, an unusual group having only one genus with two species in California. Buffaloberry is native to central North America from southern Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) south in the United States to northern California and New Mexico. In California it is found in two disjunct populations, east of the Sierras in Inyo, Mono and Alpine Counties, and in the Transverse Range. It is typically found in wetlands within desert environments. It is a deciduous shrub growing to 2-6 meter tall. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs (rarely alternately arranged), 2-6 centimeter long, oval with a rounded tip, green with a covering of fine silvery, silky hairs, more thickly silvery below than above. The flowers are pale yellow, with four sepals and no petals. The fruit is a bright red fleshy drupe 5 millimeters in diameter; it is edible but with a rather bitter taste, best left to the birds.

Sidalcea calycosa is a native annual herb in the Malvaceae (Mallow) family that grows in central and northern California from the coast to the central valley and Sierra foothills. It tends to grow in marshes, vernal pools and other wet places, at elevations from sea level to 3,900 feet. There are two recognized subspecies. Ssp. rhizomata (Pt. Reyes Checkerbloom) is a rare plant found only along the coast in Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Sidalcea calycosa is most often seen as an annual, but if conditions are right it may become a weak perennial growing from a rhizome. In the garden it needs a very wet area and not too much competition. If conditions are good it will spread.

Pt. Reyes Checkerbloom (Sidalcea calycosa ssp. rhizomata) is a rare native perennial herb that grows in Central and Northern California, primarily in the North Coast and Central Coast regions. It tends to grow in marshes and wet places, at elevations from 0-3900 feet.

Checker Bloom (Sidalcea malviflora) is a common native perennial herb in the Malvaceae (Mallow) family that grows in Northern, Southern and Central California, the Sierra Nevada and Sacramento Valley regions. It tends to grow in meadows and open flats, at elevations from sea level to 7,500 feet. It has bright green palmate leaves and 1" deep pink flowers arranged vertically on a spike. There are several recognized subspecies with different geographic ranges and slightly differing characteristics.

This plant tolerates a wide variety of soils, and prefers damp winter conditions and dry summer conditions. It is most often started from seed and sometimes behaves like an annual.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers part shade in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Silene laciniata is a herbaceous flowering plant in the same family as carnations (Caryophyllaceae) that is commonly called Indian-pink, Mexican campion, or Mexican-pink. Many subspecies have been described in the past, and some of these names may still be in use. Presently, there are two recognized subspecies in California. Ssp. laciniata is found in the southern coastal part of the state from San Luis Obispo County to San Diego County and throughout much of the Baja peninsula. Ssp. californica is more often found in the central and northern parts of the state in hilly or mountainous areas including the Transverse Range, the Coast Ranges and the foothills of the Sierras. For gardening purposes, check with your nursery for the proper plants for your area.

Silenes develop a deep taproot that helps them get through a dry summer. They may go summer dormant or may stay green depending on conditions of shade, heat and moisture. The plant is valued for its bright red starburst flowers which are small but eye-catching. Silene often grows vine-like through adjacent plants to display its flowers in unexpected locations. Plant it where the small flowers will be most visible. It deserves to be used more often. The common name Catch-fly refers to the sticky hairy glands on the stems and leaves which sometimes trap tiny insects. It is not clear whether this contributes any nutrients to the plant.
Locate this plant behind something else, and let it grow forward to surprise the viewer with its luminous red flowers.

California Indian Pink (Silene californica) is a native annual herb that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow at elevations from 0-5000 feet.

Cardinal Catchfly (Silene laciniata ssp. laciniata) is a native perennial herb that grows in northern, southern and central California at elevations from 0-3900 feet. Silene laciniata ssp. californica is found primarily in the northern part of the state and the Sierra foothills. Ssp. laciniata is primarily found along the central to southern coast. It forms a thick taproot from which an upright or straggling, branching and slightly sticky stem emerges. Larger leaves are typically held on the lower portion of the stem and are triangular or lance shaped. The flowers, though small, are dramatic; though the common name suggests they are pink, in fact they are typically a deep crimson. (They are in the "Pink" family and related to carnations which are commonly called "pinks.") Very common in its preferred habitat, often in the partial shade of boulders, taller grasses or larger shrubs. Sometimes only the flowers are visible through surrounding vegetation.

Silene parishii is a species of flowering plant in the pink family known by the common name Parish's catchfly. It is endemic to southern California, where it is known from several of the local mountain ranges, including the San Bernardino, San Gabriel, and San Jacinto Mountains. It grows in rocky, forested habitat, sometimes in the alpine climates of the higher peaks. It is a perennial herb growing from a woody, branching caudex and taproot, sending up several decumbent or erect stems 10 to 40 centimeters tall. The oppositely arranged leaves line the stems, the largest ones located at the middle of each stem. Leaves are lance-shaped to nearly oval and up to 6 centimeters long. They are thick and leathery, and sometimes glandular and sticky. Each flower is encapsulated in a tubular calyx of fused sepals which may be nearly 3 centimeters long. It is greenish with ten veins and a coating of glandular hairs. The five petals are yellowish in color and each has about six long, fringelike lobes at the tip.

Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) is a rounded evergreen shrub with thick, waxy green leaves that is moderately fast growing and long-lived. Clusters of small yellow and cream flowers bloom in late spring. Female plants, with male plants nearby, produce acorn-shaped fruit from which the highly prized jojoba oil is derived. This shrub is found primarily in the Peninsular Range and Sonoran Desert regions, growing at elevations up to 4,900 feet.

Jojoba is an excellent choice for dry areas, particularly high desert gardens. It is highly tolerant of pruning and shearing, making it a versatile landscape plant. The fruit is edible, and its seeds are an important source of forage for wildlife. Additionally, it attracts butterflies and moths, supporting pollinators in the garden.

This hardy plant thrives in light, coarsely textured soils with good drainage. It tolerates high temperatures, salinity, and poor-nutrient soils, while requiring minimal care once established. Frost may damage or kill the plant, but in warm, dry climates, it is a resilient and valuable addition to native plant gardens.