Douglas' Meadowfoam (Limnanthes douglasii ssp. rosea) is a native annual herb that grows in central and northern California. It tends to grow in wet meadows, edges of vernal pools and seasonal streams, at elevations from 0-400 feet.

Limonium californicum is a species of sea lavender known by the common names western marsh rosemary and California sea lavender. It is native to western North America from Oregon to Baja California, with occasional sightings in Nevada and Arizona. It is a plant of coastal habitat such as beaches, salt marshes, and coastal prairie, and other sandy saline and alkaline habitat such as playas. This is a tough perennial herb growing from a woody rhizome. The thick, leathery leaves are oval in shape and up to about 30 centimeters long including the petioles, located in a basal rosette about the stem. The flower cluster is a stiff, branching panicle no more than about 35 centimeters tall bearing large clusters of flowers. The flowers have brownish white ribbed sepals and lavender to nearly white petals.

Linanthus californicus (Prickly Phlox) is a native sub-shrub in the Polemoniaceae (Phlox) family that grows along the coast and in the Coast Ranges, Transverse Range and Peninsular Range from San Luis Obispo County to Orange and Riverside Counties. It tends to grow at elevations from sea level to 6,500 feet. The leaves are palmate and sufficiently prickly to be painful. The pink or lavender flowers are small but showy and can appear 6 months of the year.

Prairie Flax (Linum lewisii) usually carries delicate powder-blue flowers on nodding stalks. However, the flowers are sometimes white or lavender. It is a perennial, blooming in summer over a long period. The needle-like leaves make a fine, lacy contrast with the wider blooms. It grows fast to one to one and a half feet tall.

This plant prefers full sun, takes low water, but needs good drainage and does not grow well in clay soil.  

Cardinal Flower is an evergreen species native to the Americas, from southeastern Canada through the eastern and southwestern United States, Mexico and Central America to northern Colombia. It tends to grow in very wet areas like stream bottoms, bogs and seeps. It grows to about a meter tall (when in flower) and has bright red flowers. Hummingbirds love it. Cardinal flower is often cultivated for ornamental purposes and has also been used for medicinal purposes.

The plant is very alkaloid and is considered toxic.

Dunn's Lobelia (Lobelia dunnii) is a native perennial herb that grows in Southern California, primarily in the South Coast Range, the South Coast and Transverse Range regions. It tends to grow in falls and moist cliffs, at elevations from 0-3000 feet.

Dunn's Lobelia (Lobelia dunnii var. serrata) is a native perennial herb that grows in southern and central California. It tends to grow in falls and moist cliffs, at elevations from 0-3000 feet.

Lomatium dissectum is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name fernleaf biscuitroot. It is native to much of western North America, where it grows in varied habitat. It is a perennial herb reaching up to 1.4 meters tall, growing from a thick taproot. The leaves are mostly attached near the base of the plant, spreading with petioles up to 30 centimeters long and large blades divided into many small, narrow segments. The flower cluster is an umbel of many small yellow or reddish flowers, each cluster on a ray up to 10 centimeters long. The fruits resemble pumpkin seeds.

Pink honeysuckle,  (Lonicera hispidula) also known as California honeysuckle, is a native vine or shrub in the Caprifoliaceae family. It grows along the coast from San Luis Obispo County northward, as well as in the Sierra foothills and parts of southern California. Typically found on slopes and streambanks at elevations up to 2,500 feet, this adaptable plant thrives in both moist year-round soils and drier summer conditions with minimal irrigation.

With its vibrant tubular pink flowers, pink honeysuckle is a magnet for hummingbirds. It can climb larger shrubs or trellises when available, or it will sprawl along the ground as a trailing shrub. In late summer, it produces clusters of striking red berries that attract birds, though they may be mildly toxic to humans.

Gardeners should be aware that pink honeysuckle can act as a foliar host for the pathogen Phytophthora ramorum, which causes sudden oak death. While it remains a beautiful and easy-to-grow choice for coastal and northern California gardens, care should be taken when planting near susceptible oak species.

Chaparral Honeysuckle is a hardy shrub with a woody trunk which sends up spike flower clusters of yellow honeysuckle flowers. Each flower is about a centimeter long, with prominent stamens extending from the rolled-back lips. The fruits are red, spherical, and shiny. It is quite drought-tolerant, being native to the hot, dry chaparral ecosystems of California and Arizona. It is attractive to hummingbirds. Has an edible, but very bitter berries.

Twinberry (Lonicera involucrata) is a member of the Honeysuckle (Caprifoliaceae) family that is native to northern and western North America, from southern Alaska to Quebec, and south through the western United States to California and to Chihuahua in northwestern Mexico. 

It is a large shrub with elliptical leaves. Its flowers are tubular, hairy, 1-2 centimeter long. They are produced in pairs; each pair has a pair of reddish basal leaves. The fruit is a black berry 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter; each contains several small seeds.The fruit is edible but bitter and best left to the birds.

In California the two recognized varieties have differing ranges. Var. involucrata has mostly yellow flowers and is found in the Sierra. Var. ledebourii has mostly red-orange flowers and is found along the coast and in the Coast Ranges from Santa Barbara County northwards. It grows at elevations from sea level to 9500 ft.

In the garden, this plant likes regular water but can survive on reduced watering. The flowers are welcome in summer when many other plants have finished blooming.

Southern Honeysuckle is a species in the Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle) family that is endemic to California, where it is known from several areas in mountain and coastal habitats, particularly chaparral. It is a vining shrub that usually climbs on other plants for support. It may exceed two meters in length. It is lined with oval leaves up to 4 centimeters long. The flower cluster is a long, fuzzy spike of light yellow flowers each about a centimeter long. The flower has an upper and lower lip with hairy stamens and style protruding. The fruit is a round red or yellow berry just under a centimeter wide. There are two recognized varieties, var. subspicata and var. denudata. There are subtle differences between the two varieties, and they have overlapping ranges (see separate listings). Var. denudata is the more widespread variety.

Santa Barbara Honeysuckle (Lonicera subspicata var. denudata) is a vining shrub in the Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle) family. It is the most commonly occurring variety of the species. Despite the common name, it grows across much of southern and central California, primarily in the coastal counties but with scattered inland locations. It tends to grow on slopes, at elevations from sea level to 5,900 feet. It is known from several types of mountain and coastal habitats, particularly chaparral. It is a vining shrub which usually climbs on other plants for support. It may exceed two meters in length. It is lined with oval leaves up to 4 centimeters long. The flower cluster is a long, fuzzy spike of light yellow flowers each about a centimeter long. The flower has an upper and lower lip with hairy stamens and style protruding. The fruit is a round red or yellow berry just under a centimeter wide. There are subtle differences between the two varieties, and they have overlapping ranges (see separate listings).

Southern Honeysuckle (Lonicera subspicata var. subspicata) is a rare native shrub that grows in Southern California, primarily in the Transverse Range region, but with scattered locations elsewhere. Lonicera subspicata has two recognized varieties, the other being var. denudata which is more common and widespread. There are subtle difference between the Varieties: Var. subspicata tends to grow on slopes, at elevations from 0-3300 feet. It is known from several areas in mountain and coastal habitat, particularly chaparral. It is a vining shrub which usually climbs on other plants for support. It may exceed two meters in length. It is lined with oval leaves up to 4 centimeters long. The flower cluster is a long, fuzzy spike of white flowers each about a centimeter long. The flower has an upper and lower lip with hairy stamens and style protruding. The fruit is a round red or yellow berry just under a centimeter wide.

Lupinus albicaulis is a species of lupine known by the common name sickle-keel lupine. It is native to the western United States from Washington to California, where it grows mostly in mountain habitat. It is a hairy, erect perennial herb often exceeding a meter in height. Each palmate leaf is made up of 5 to 10 leaflets each up to 7 centimeters long. The flower cluster is up to 44 centimeters long, bearing whorls of flowers each 1 to 1.6 centimeters long. The flower is purple to yellowish or whitish in color and has a sickle-shaped keel. The fruit is a silky-hairy legume pod up to 5 centimeters long containing several seeds. In Oregon, where the plant is native, it has been cultivated for several uses, including reforestation and revegetation of roadsides and other disturbed habitat.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Klamath Ranges, High sierra Nevada, Western Transverse Ranges; to WA.

Shasta Lupine (Lupinus albicaulis var. shastensis) is a native perennial herb that grows in central and northern California. It tends to grow at elevations from 2000-8500 feet.

The evergreen silver lupine provides year-round interest in the garden. A member of the pea family, it has attractive silver-green leaves that add a pop of color and texture to the garden. In the spring, it boasts large flower spikes that range in color from pale blue to deep purple. The blooms are attractive to pollinators, especially bees.

This stunning shrub prefers dry, sandy, well-drained soil. No need to add compost; silver lupines do best in nutrient-poor soil. Plant in full sun and limit summer water. This plant can be short-lived but does well in the right conditions.

Silver Lupine is a native shrub that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in open and sand or rocks, at elevations from 0-4900 feet. Needs excellent drainage, susceptible to root rots

Mountain Bush Lupine (Lupinus albifrons var. austromontanus) is a native shrub that grows in Southern and Central California, primarily in the Tehachapi Mountains and Transverse Range regions. It tends to grow in , at elevations from 3300-9800 feet.

Lupinus albifrons var. collinus is one of four varieties of Silver Bush Lupine. Var. collinus grows in northern and central California in the Coast Ranges, Klamath Mountains, and foothills of the northern Sierras. It tends to grow in open and sand or rocks, at elevations from 0-6600 feet.

Lupinus argenteus is a species of lupine known by the common name silvery lupine. It is native to much of western North America from the southwestern Canadian provinces to the southwestern and midwestern United States, where it grows in several types of habitat, including sagebrush, grassland, and forests. This is a perennial herb growing erect to heights anywhere between 10 centimeters and 1.5 meters. It is sometimes silvery-hairy in texture and sometimes nearly hairless. Each palmate leaf is made up of 5 to 9 leaflets each up to 6 centimeters long. They are narrow and linear in shape, under a centimeter wide. The flower cluster bears many flowers, sometimes arranged in whorls. The flower is 5 to 14 millimeters long and purple, blue, or whitish in color. The banner, or upper petal, of the flower may have a patch of white or yellow. The fruit is a hairy legume pod up to 3 centimeters long containing several beanlike seeds.

Lupinus breweri is a species of lupine known by the common names Brewer's lupine and matted lupine. It is native to much of California, except for the deserts, and to adjacent sections of Oregon and Nevada, where it is common in some areas, particularly mountain forests. This is a hairy, mat-forming perennial herb, sometimes becoming like a shrub, with a woody base. The leaves spread out from the stem. Each palmate leaf is made up of 5 to 10 woolly leaflets each up to 2 centimeters long. The flower cluster is a dense raceme of flowers a few centimeters tall, each flower 4 to 11 millimeters long. The flower is blue or purple with a white or yellowish spot on the banner. The fruit is a silky-hairy legume pod 1 or 2 centimeters long.

Lupinus covillei is a species of lupine known by the common name shaggy lupine. Lupinus covillei is endemic to the Sierra Nevada of California, where it grows in moist habitat such as wet depressions in meadows. In the same states it is also abundant in such parks as Sequoia, Yosemite and Kings Canyon National Parks.

Lupinus elmeri is an uncommon species of lupine known by the common names Elmer's lupine and South Fork Mountain lupine. It is endemic to California, where it is known only from a few scattered occurrences in the northernmost slopes of the North Coast Ranges. This is an erect perennial herb with a thick reddish stem and green, hairy herbage. It reaches a maximum height near 90 centimetres (35 in). Each palmate leaf is made up of 6 to 10 leaflets up to 6 centimetres (2. 4 in) long. The inflorescence bears pale yellow flowers each roughly a centimeter long which are not arranged in whorls as they are in many other lupines. The fruit is a hairy legume pod up to 5 centimetres (2. 0 in) long.

Lupinus excubitus is a species of lupine known as the grape soda lupine. Its common name refers to its sweet scent, which is said to be very reminiscent of grape soda. This species and its variants are found in the southwestern United States, especially in California, and in far northern Mexico. The plant is a small shrub with gray-green foliage. The fan-shaped leaves are each made up of 7 to 10 narrow leaflets. The raceme flower cluster is a tall stalk of rich purple flowers, each with a bright yellow spot. The occasional variant has white flowers. The fruit is a silky legume pod up to 5 centimeters in length containing mottled brown seeds.

Lupinus formosus, the summer lupine, is a member of the lupine genus Lupinus in the Fabaceae family. This lupine is especially attractive to pollinators due to its summer-fall blooming season. Will spread slowly by rhizome. This species dies back in winter but usually resprouts in early spring. It is native to California. Lupinus formosus has been cited as a poisonous plant. Although it is not endangered it faces eradication in some areas at the hands of cattle farmers as it has been implicated in crooked calf disease. This lupine, along with five others, is poisonous from the time it starts growth in the spring until the seed pods shatter in late summer or early fall. However, the younger the plant the more toxic it is.

Lupinus grayi is a species of lupine known by the common name Sierra lupine. It is endemic to California, where its distribution extends the length of the Sierra Nevada and its foothills and includes the Tehachapi Mountains. It is a common plant of the mountain forests, where it sometimes carpets meadows with its woolly green herbage and purple flower spikes. This is a low, prostrate perennial herb forming spreading mats 20 or 30 centimeters high. Each palmate leaf is made up of 5 to 11 leaflets up to 3.5 centimeters long. The flower cluster bears dense whorls of flowers each just over a centimeter long. Each flower is purple or blue with a yellow or reddish patch on the banner. The fruit is a hairy legume pod up to 3.5 centimeters in length.

Lupinus latifolius var. viridifolius (Broadleaf Lupine), sometimes also called Bearded Lupine, occurs in northeastern California and southeastern Oregon. It is a a member of the bean family. This plant enjoys mesic conditions (areas with moderate, balanced moisture), and lives in wet, shady to open, sunny clay banks along streams and on the margins of meadows, within higher elevation conifer woodlands. It occurs between about 3,300 feet to 8,200 feet above sea level, and flowers in spring or summer.

Lupinus longifolius is a species of lupine known by the common name longleaf bush lupine. It is native to the coastal mountain ranges and hillsides of southern California and Baja California, where it grows in local habitat in the canyons and slopes, such as scrub and chaparral. This is a bushy, erect shrub which can reach a maximum height around 1.5 meters. Each palmate leaf is divided into 5 to 10 leaflets up to 6 centimeters long. The herbage is green or gray-green and coated in short, silvery hairs. The flower cluster is long, narrow raceme of many flowers each between 1 and 2 centimeters in length. The flower is purple or blue, sometimes with a whitish patch on its banner. The fruit is a dark-colored, hairy legume pod containing 6 to 8 seeds.

Lupinus luteolus is a species of lupine known by the common names pale yellow lupine and butter lupine. It is native to the coastal mountain ranges of Oregon and California as far south as the Transverse Ranges, where it grows in open habitat such as clearings and sometimes disturbed areas. It is an annual herb with a rigid stem growing to maximum heights anywhere between 30 centimeters and 1.5 meters, and known to exceed that at times. Each palmate leaf is made up of 7 to 9 hairy leaflets 1 to 3 centimeters long. The flower cluster is a raceme of crowded whorls of flowers each just over a centimeter long. The flower is often pale to bright yellow, but can be blue or pinkish. The fruit is a hairy, rounded or oval legume pod generally containing 2 seeds.

Lupinus polyphyllus is a species in the Fabaceae (Legume) family that is native to a large part of western North America. In California it is found primarily in the Sierras and other northern mountains. It commonly grows along streams and creeks, preferring moist habitats. It is a perennial herbaceous plant with stout stems growing to 1.5 meter tall. The leaves are palmately compound with (5-) 9-17 leaflets 3-15 centimeter long. The flowers are produced on a tall spike, each flower 1-1.5 centimeter long, most commonly blue to purple in wild plants. It is almost always grown from seed.

Burke's Lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus var. burkei) is a native perennial herb that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in moist places, at elevations from 4900-9800 feet.

Lupinus stiversii is a species of lupine known by the common name harlequin lupine. It is endemic to California, where it has a disjunct distribution in several separate mountain ranges. It is a plant of the Sierra Nevada and its foothills, and populations also occur in the Transverse Ranges above Los Angeles and the Santa Lucia Mountains of Monterey County. It grows in open, dry habitat, such as forest clearings and exposed slopes. It is a hairy annual herb growing 10 to 50 centimeters tall with an erect, branching stem. Each palmate leaf is made up of usually 7 leaflets measuring 2 to 5 centimeters in length. The flower cluster is a dense array of a few flowers, often just one or two layers. The unique flower is between 1 and 2 centimeters long and is pink with a yellow banner. The fruit is a legume pod around 2 centimeters long containing usually 5 seeds. The plant was named for Army physician Dr. Charles Austin Stivers, who first collected it in 1862 near Yosemite.

Luzula parviflora is a species of flowering plant in the rush family known by the common name small-flowered woodrush. It has a circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout the northern Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia, and North America. It grows in moist areas, often in gravelly soils. It occurs at low elevations in colder regions, such as tundra; farther south it is restricted mainly to high mountains. It can grow in highly disturbed habitat, as evidenced by its ability to survive volcanic eruption and to thrive in the destroyed ecosystem on the most barren slopes of Mount St. Helens. It is a perennial herb forming grasslike clumps of several erect stems up to half a meter in maximum height surrounded by many grasslike leaves. The flower cluster is an open array of many clusters of brown flowers on long branches.

Lycium californicum is a sprawling shrub in the Solanaceae (Nightshade) family known by the common names California boxthorn and California desert-thorn. This plant is native to the coast of southern California, including the Channel Islands, from Los Angeles County into northern Baja California, as well as nearby Arizona. This slightly thorny shrub has thick, fleshy, bulbous green leaves and bell-shaped white flowers with purple streaks or spots. It bears bright red shiny berries 3 to 6 millimeters in diameter which are edible and taste like tomatoes. There are numerous relatives in the Lycium genus that are primarily desert plants, but this species is strictly coastal. In the wild it goes completely leafless in summer and appears dead. However, it responds very rapidly to rain and will even leaf out in response to a summer shower. If given continuous garden water it can remain evergreen.

Lycopus americanus, common names Water horehound or American bugleweed, is a member of the genus Lycopus. It blooms in late summer and is found in much of North America. It is reputed to have medicinal properties and has been used as a dye.

Lycopus asper is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name rough bugleweed. It is native to much of North America, where it can be found most often in moist areas, such as the soil near lakes. This is a perennial herb growing from a rhizome with thick, knobby tips. The plant grows erect to around 80 centimeters in maximum height, but is known to reach one meter. Its stem is lined with pairs of toothed leaves with heads of flowers in their axils. The flower is white and a few millimeters in length.

Island Ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus) is a native tree that grows in Southern and Central California, primarily in the Channel Islands region. It tends to grow in rocky slopes, at elevations from 100-1600 feet. Lyonothamnus is endemic to the Channel Islands of California, where it grows in the chaparral and oak woodlands of the rocky coastal canyons.

This is a tree growing up to 15 metres (49 ft) tall with peeling reddish gray or brown bark. The evergreen leaves are shiny, dark green with lighter undersides, and borne on short petioles. The two subspecies have leaves of different leaf shapes. Ssp. asplenifolius (Santa Cruz Island Ironwood) has incised, fern-like leaves and is the more commonly available in horticultural form. Ssp. floribundus (Catalina Island Ironwood) has smooth, undivided leaves and is seldom seen in gardens. The inflorescence of both is a cluster of woolly white flowers with many short, whiskery stamens. The fruit is a pair of hard follicles.

Santa Cruz Island Ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. aspleniifolius) is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to the Channel Islands, growing on rocky slopes in chaparral and oak woodlands at elevations from 100-1600 feet. It is known for its attractive, peeling reddish-gray bark and shiny, dark green leaves with lighter undersides. The leaves of this subspecies are fern-like, incised, and distinctive compared to the smooth, undivided leaves of the Catalina Island ironwood (L.f. ssp. floribundus), which is rarely seen in horticulture.

In summer, this tree produces clusters of woolly white flowers, which turn orange-rust as they age, providing year-round visual interest. Santa Cruz Island ironwood is commonly found in native plant nurseries and is often used as a specimen or feature tree in gardens.

The tree's wildlife value is significant, as it attracts a range of pollinators with its showy flowers. Birds are also known to be attracted to the hard, follicle-shaped fruits. This ironwood is well-suited for Mediterranean-style landscapes, providing shelter and food for various species.

Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. floribundus, the Santa Catalina Island Ironwood, is endemic to Santa Catalina Island, one of the Channel Islands in Southern California. The trees occur in small groves, with all trunks within a grove being clones representing a single genetic individual. There are only around 110 groves of Catalina ironwood remaining.

It is rare in cultivation, while the other Island Ironwood subspecies, Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. asplenifolius, the Santa Cruz Island Ironwood, is more readily available and cultivated horticulturally. It is endemic to three of the Channel Islands: Santa Cruz Island, Santa Rosa Island, and San Clemente Island.

The cheerful yellow and red flowers of the Spring Madia brighten up the landscape and attract bees and butterflies to the garden. Birds enjoy the seeds after blooming. Spring Madia is an annual wildflower in the sunflower family. This plant is also known as tarweed because of its scent, which is pleasant and reminiscent of pineapple.

The flowers bloom from summer to fall. They look their best in the morning and curl up in the afternoon. Spring Madia does well in open, sunny places. It is an easy-to-grow, low-moisture plant that adapts to different soil types.

Maianthemum racemosum ssp. amplexicaule (Treacleberry, False Solomon's Seal, Solomon's plume or False Spikenard; syn. Smilacina racemosa) is a species of flowering plant in the family Ruscaceae, native to North America. It is a woodland herbaceous perennial plant growing to 50-90 centimeter tall, with alternate, oblong-lance-shaped leaves 7-15 centimeter long and 3-6 centimeter broad. The flowers are produced on a 10-15 centimeter panicle, each flower with six white petals 3-6 millimeter long blooming in late spring. The plants produce green fruits that are round and turn red in late summer.

Malacothamnus clementinus is a rare species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common name San Clemente Island bushmallow. It is endemic to San Clemente Island, one of the Channel Islands of California, where it is known from fewer than ten occurrences in the steep, rocky seaside canyons. The plant became a federally listed endangered species in 1977 when it was limited to a single population nearing extinction due to herbivory by the feral goats which once infested the small island. The goats have since been removed and the plant is recovering well, but many threats still remain, including competition with introduced species of plants, wildfire, erosion, and damage to the landscape by United States Navy bombing exercises. This is a bushy shrub with a thin, multibranched stem coated in long, fine hairs. It reaches heights between 40 centimeters and one meter. It bears rounded dark green leaves several centimeters long which are divided into sharp lobes. The flower cluster is a spikelike cluster of a few pale pink, lavender, or nearly white flowers with somewhat lance-shaped, hairy petals several millimeters long. It rarely produces fertile seed and it is believed to propagate itself mainly via rhizomes.

Malacothamnus densiflorus is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common name few-rayed bushmallow. It is native to the Peninsular Ranges of southern California and northern Baja California, where it is a member of the chaparral plant community. This is a shrub with a slender, multibranched stem approaching two meters in maximum height. It is coated in thin to dense yellowish or tan hairs. The thick to leathery leaves are oval in shape, a few centimeters long, and sometimes divided into lobes. The flower cluster is a spikelike cluster of many pale pink flowers with oval or somewhat triangular petals each up to a centimeter long. Flowers appears in abundance in the spring and early summer.



The plant is tough and easy to grow, and extremely drought tolerant. It can handle most soil types as long as they are well draining. In nature it seems to grow best on dry gentle slopes. Avoid summer significant amounts of direct summer water, though it can tolerate a light sprinkling once a month. Does well in full sun or part shade.

Chaparral Mallow is an attractive evergreen shrub with pale pink flowers that grow on branching, elongated clusters. In full bloom, one plant can have thousands of flowers. It is attractive to butterflies, hummingbirds, and other small birds.

This plant has a fast growth rate and can reach up to 16 feet tall and 10 feet wide. It is a good choice for bank stabilization and erosion control in larger spaces. In smaller gardens, pruning can help keep it under control.

Malacothamnus fremontii is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common name unfurled bushmallow (after its flowers that dry unfurled). Malacothamnus fremontii is endemic to northern and central California. It is found growing in chaparral and woodlands in several mountain ranges and their foothills. Two varieties are currently recognized, Ml fremontii var. fremontii and M. fremontii var. exfibulosus (formerly Malacothamnus helleri). Malacothamnus fremontii is a stiff, erect shrub with a branching stem reaching 0. 5-2 metres (1. 6-6. 6 ft) in height. It is coated densely in white fibers, appearing feltlike. The hairy oval or rounded lobed leaves are several centimeters long. The inflorescence is an elongated cluster of many pale purple flowers with hairy petals each up to a centimeter long.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Malacothamnus jonesii is a rare species of flowering plant in the Malvaceae (Mallow) family known by the common name Jones' Bushmallow. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the chaparral and woodland of the Coast Ranges in Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties where it has three recognized varieties: M. jonesii var. jonesii, M. jonesii var gracilis (formerly M. gracilis), and M. jonesii var. niveus (formerly M. niveus). This is an erect shrub with a slender branching stem reaching two meters or more in height. It is coated densely in velvety white hairs, appearing feltlike. The thin, gray-green leaves are several centimeters long. The flower cluster is a loose cluster of a few pale pink flowers with narrow petals each under a centimeter long.

Malacothamnus lucanus is a species of flowering plant in the Malvaceae (Mallow) family known by the common names Santa Lucia bushmallow and Arroyo Seco bushmallow. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the chaparral and woodland of the Central Coast and adjacent Coast Ranges of Monterey County.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selection of Malacothamnus lucianus from the Santa Lucia Mountains introduced by suncrest Nurseries. Formerly Malacothamnus palmeri var. lucianus.

Tolerates almost any soil type. A selection introduced by suncrest Nurseries.

Malacothamnus orbiculatus is a native shrub that grows in southern and central California.

Malacothrix incana is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name dunedelion. It is endemic to California, where it grows only in sand dunes on the beaches of the Channel Islands and isolated spots along the mainland coastline in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. The type specimen was collected in San Diego, but the plant no longer occurs there. This is a perennial herb forming a leafy mound up to about 70 centimeters in maximum height. It may be hairless to densely hairy. The leaves are smooth-edged or have dull lobes. Leaves at the base of the stem are similar to those distal. The flower cluster is an array of flower heads lined with hairless phyllaries. The ray florets are one or two centimeters long and yellow in color.

Malacothrix saxatilis is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name cliff desertdandelion. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the central and southern coastal hills and mountain ranges. It is a perennial herb growing 30 to 60 centimeters tall from a rhizome and caudex unit. The leaves are variable in size and shape and may be lobed or not. The flower cluster is an array of flower heads lined with lance-shaped phyllaries. The ray florets are 1 or 2 centimeters long and white in color. There are five varieties which intergrade, some of which are very limited in distribution.

Cliff Desertdandelion (Malacothrix saxatilis var. saxatilis) is a rare native perennial herb that grows in Southern and Central California, primarily in the South Coast and Transverse Range regions. It tends to grow in sand dunes and open places, at elevations from 0-6600 feet.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Hybrid between Malva pacifica (Lavatera venosa - from Baja CA) and Malva (Lavatera) assurgentiflora.

Tolerates almost any soil type. May be a cultivar of Malva (Lavatera) assurgentiflora.

Hybrid of Malva venetus and Malva assurgentiflora. Tolerates almost any soil type. Hybrid of Malva (Lavatera) venosa & Malva (Lavatera) assurgentifolia
Introduced by Tree of Life.

Malva rosa (Lavatera assurgentiflora) is a mallow with showy flowers that look like small hibiscus flowers. They bloom much of the year. Each flower has five dark-veined deep pink petals.  It is a perennial or shrub in the mallow family, native primarily to the Channel Islands. 

Malva rosa attracts many species of butterfly.

This plant can handle summer irrigation, up to every other week, as long as the soil is well drained. You should prune branches back annually to maintain a compact form.