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

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

Baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii var. atomaria) is a flowering annual in the Boraginaceae, or borage/forget-me-not family, found in grasslands in Northwestern California and Oregon.  This variety of Nemophila menziesii has white flowers with black dots, often with a faint blue tint or blue veins, other times a pure white.  

Sow seed October through February. This plant has a low, creeping growth and blooms from early spring to mid-summer. It works well in a wildflower garden or as a container plant. It will resow itself reliably if non-native grasses and weeds are controlled. Protect seedlings in spring and fall from slugs.

Baby blue eyes is visited by many pollinators and is a favorite of native bees.

Nemophila parviflora (smallflower nemophila, small-flowered nemophila or oak-leaved nemophila) is a dicot in the borage family, Boraginaceae, in the waterleaf subfamily, Hydrophylloideae. The plant is native to the low to moderate elevation forests and chaparral and oak woodlands of western North America, from California to British Columbia and Utah. Nemophila parviflora is an annual herb that grows in the spring. The flowers are bowl-shaped, white to lavender, solitary from leaf axils. The corolla is up to 4. 5 millimeters wide. The leaves are 10-35 mm long and 8-25 mm wide. They have 2 pairs of lateral lobes and the lobes are entire. The fruit is a capsule with a single seed. Varieties: Varieties include: Nemophila parviflora var. austiniaeNemophila parviflora var. parvifloraNemophila parviflora var. quercifolia

Nemophila pedunculata is a common annual wildflower found throughout western North America. Its common names include littlefoot nemophila and meadow nemophila. Nemophila pedunculata grows low to the ground, with a fleshy stem and thick, bristly leaves. The flowers are tiny, only about a centimeter wide. They are a broad bell shape and they vary widely in color. Some are blue, but most are white with a variety of markings, including small blue streaks or speckles, or an eye-catching purple spot at the tip of each petal.

Nemophila pulchella, known by the common name Eastwood's baby blue-eyes, is a species of flowering plant in the borage family. It is endemic to California, where it is found from the San Francisco Bay Area to the southern Sierra Nevada to the Transverse Ranges. It grows in many types of mountain, foothill, and valley habitats. Nemophila pulchella is an annual herb with a fleshy and delicate stem. The leaves are up to 5 centimeters long and generally divided into five wide, rounded lobes. Flowers are solitary, each on a pedicel up to 3 centimeters in length. The flower has a calyx of hairy, pointed sepals. The bowl-shaped flower corolla is white or blue, the largest just over a centimeter wide. Nemophila pulchella is an annual herb with a fleshy and delicate stem. The leaves are up to 5 centimeters long and generally divided into five wide, rounded lobes. Flowers are solitary, each on a pedicel up to 3 centimeters in length. The flower has a calyx of hairy, pointed sepals. The bowl-shaped flower corolla is white or blue, the largest just over a centimeter wide. There are three Varieties: Fremont's baby blue-eyes, var. fremontii, has white flowers, as doesvar. gracilis, which is endemic to the Sierra Nevada foothillsvar. pulchella has blue flowers with white centers.

Nemophila spatulata, with the common names Sierra baby blue-eyes and Sierra nemophila, is a dicot in the family Boraginaceae. The plant is an annual herb wildflower that grows in California, and adjacent areas of Nevada and Oregon. It is found on slopes at elevations between 1,100-3,000 metres (3,600-9,800 ft), in meadows, road banks, and woodlands. It grows in the following plant communities: Yellow pine forestRed fir forestLodgepole forestBioregional Distribution includes: Southern High Cascade RangeHigh Sierra Nevada and Southern Sierra Nevada FoothillsTehachapi MountainsTransverse Ranges, in the San Bernardino Mountains and Santa Monica MountainsPeninsular Ranges in the San Jacinto MountainsThe flowers of Nemophila spatulata are bowl-shaped, white or blue and generally veined and dotted. The lobes are sometimes purple-spotted. The corolla is 2-8 mm long and 2-10 mm wide. The leaves are opposite, 5-30 mm long, and the petiole is winged. The lower blades have 3-5 lobes, are shallow and generally entire. The upper blade lobes have 3-5 triangular teeth. The seeds are brown and are smooth but shallowly pitted. The fruit produces between 5-7 seeds.

Neoholmgrenia andina is a species of evening primrose known by the common name Blackfoot River evening primrose. It is native to western North America, including southern Canada and much of the western United States, where it is a plant of mountains, and sagebrush plateaus. It is a small annual herb growing a hairy, branching stem generally under 15 centimeters tall. The bunched leaves are widely lance-shaped and 1 to 3 centimeters long. The inflorescence bears one or more flowers with usually four tiny bright yellow petals. The fruit is a flat capsule up to a centimeter long. Media related to Neoholmgrenia andina at Wikimedia Commons

Neokochia americana (syn. Bassia americana, Neokochia americana) is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family, subfamily Camphorosmoideae, known by the common name green molly. Neokochia americana is native to the western United States from California to Montana to Texas, where it grows in dry, alkaline soils such as alkali flats and desert washes. A closely related species is Neokochia californica.

Neokochia californica (syn. Bassia californica, Neokochia californica) is a species of flowering plant in the subfamily Camphorosmoideae of the amaranth family known by the common name rusty molly. It is native to the valleys and deserts of southeastern California and adjacent parts of Nevada, where it grows in dry, alkaline soils such as alkali flats and desert washes. This is a perennial herb or small shrub growing one or more sprawling, branching stems to a maximum height near 60 centimeters. The stems are lined with narrow, elongated, somewhat flattened fleshy leaves up to about a centimeter long. The leaves and stem are coated in grayish or brownish hairs. The inflorescence is made up of one or more tiny hairy flowers sprouting from the axils of the leaves.

Nestotus stenophyllus is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name narrowleaf mock goldenweed. It is native to the western United States, especially the inland Pacific Northwest and northern Great Basin, where it grows in sagebrush habitat. It is a small, clump-forming perennial herb growing up to about 12 centimeters tall. The rough-haired, glandular leaves are 1 or 2 centimeters long and linear to lance-shaped. The inflorescence is a solitary flower head atop an erect peduncle. The hairy head has several yellow disc florets each around a centimeter long and at the center many yellow disc florets. The fruit is a silky-haired achene tipped with a white pappus.

Neviusia cliftonii is a rare species of shrub in the rose family which is known by the common name Shasta snow-wreath. It is endemic to Shasta County, California, where it is known from fewer than 20 occurrences in the mountains around Lake Shasta. The shrub was not known to science until 1992, when it was discovered east of Redding, California, and described as a new species in Neviusia, previously a monotypic genus. This is an erect deciduous shrub reaching 2.5 meters in maximum height. The alternately arranged leaves are oval or heart shaped and lined with toothed lobes. The leaf blades reach 6 centimeters long and are borne on short petioles. The flower cluster is an umbel-like cluster of 3 to 5 flowers. The flower is a ball of about 50 long, whiskery white stamens each about half a centimeter long. There are sometimes white petals surrounding the stamens, although the petals are often absent. The fruit is a soft-bodied achene a few millimeters long.

Nicolletia occidentalis is a flowering plant in the marigold tribe of the daisy family which is known by the common name Mojave hole-in-the-sand plant. This flower is native to California, especially the Mojave Desert, and northern Baja California. Nicolletia occidentalis is a desert-adapted perennial herb with a skeletonlike appearance. The narrow, fleshy leaves each end in a bristle and have large oil glands which exude a strong unpleasant scent. The plant grows from a deep taproot in the desert sand and the stem is sometimes surrounded by a depression in the sand, a trait that gives it its common name. This plant bears showy flowers with curving bright pink ray florets and yellow centers.

Nicotiana attenuata is a species of wild tobacco known by the common name coyote tobacco. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Texas and northern Mexico, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a hairy and sparsely hairy annual herb exceeding a meter in maximum height. The leaf blades may be 10 centimeters long, the lower ones oval and the upper narrower in shape, and are borne on petioles. The flower cluster bears several flowers with pinkish or greenish white tubular throats 2 to 3 centimeters long, their bases enclosed in pointed sepals. The flower face has five mostly white lobes. The fruit is a capsule about a centimeter long. This plant was used for a great variety of medicinal purposes by many Native American groups, and was smoked ceremonially by the Hopi, Apache, Navajo, Paiute, and other groups.

Nicotiana clevelandii is a species of wild tobacco known by the common name Cleveland's tobacco. It is native to northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States in California and Arizona, where it grows in the Sonoran Desert, Colorado Desert, and in chaparral of the coastal canyons of the Peninsular Ranges and the Channel Islands of California. Nicotiana clevelandii is a glandular and sparsely hairy annual herb producing a slender stem up to about 60 centimetres (24 in) in maximum height. The leaf blades may be 18 centimetres (7. 1 in) long, the lower ones borne on petioles. The inflorescence bears white or green-tinged flowers with tubular throats around 2 centimeters long, their bases enclosed in pointed sepals which are unequal in length. The flower face is about a centimeter wide with five mostly white lobes. The fruit is a capsule about half a centimeter long. Uses. This plant was used for a variety of medicinal purposes and smoked in rituals by the Cahuilla.

Nicotiana obtusifolia, or desert tobacco, is a plant native to the southwestern United States (from California to Utah to Texas) and Mexico. It is a woody perennial herb growing up to about 80 centimeters in maximum height. The leaves have blades up to 10 centimeters long, the lower ones borne on short petioles, the upper ones smaller and clasping the stem. The funnel-shaped flower is white or green-tinged, its tubular throat up to 2.6 centimeters long.

Nicotiana quadrivalvis is a species of wild tobacco known by the common name Indian tobacco. It is native to the western United States, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a bushy, sprawling annual herb growing up to two meters in maximum height. The lower leaf blades are up to 15 centimeters long and are borne on short petioles, the upper smaller and sessile on the stem. The flower cluster is an array of several white, greenish, or purple-tinged flowers with tubular throats up to 5 centimeters long. The base of each is enclosed in a ridged calyx of sepals. The flower face may be 5 centimeters wide. The fruit is a capsule up to 2 centimeters in length.

Nitrophila mohavensis is a rare species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common name Amargosa niterwort. It is endemic to Nye County in southwestern Nevada and Inyo County, in eastern California. Nitrophila mohavensis is endemic to the Amargosa Desert, straddling the border of California and Nevada east of Death Valley and near Death Valley National Park. There are three occurrences known on the Nevada side and fewer than five occurrences in California. The plant grows only in alkaline salt pans made up of moist and drying, salt-encrusted clay soils surrounded by other halophytes, such as Atriplex confertifolia and Cleomella brevipes. Nitrophila mohavensis, the Amargosa niterwort, is a petite rhizomatous perennial herb growing no more than about 10 centimeters tall. It produces erect branches, often in pairs, covered in fleshy oval-shaped green leaves 3 or 4 millimeters long. The inflorescence is a solitary flower or cluster of a few flowers emerging from between the leaves. The flower lacks petals but has pink petallike sepals which fade white with age. Nitrophila mohavensis is a federally listed endangered species. Its range is restricted and highly localized, making it vulnerable to severe losses or extinction in a single event. The plant only occurs within and around the remnants of Carson Slough in the Ash Meadows area, including within Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge which is a protected area but is still affected by alterations in the hydrology of the landscape. The plant relies on saturation of its soil by a high water table, and the main threat to its existence is the pumping of groundwater. Other threats include potassium and zeolite mining in the area and occasional illegal off-road vehicle use.

Nitrophila occidentalis is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common name boraxweed. It is native to the western United States and northern Mexico, where it can be found in habitat with moist alkaline soils, such as salt pans. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing decumbent or erect stems up to about 30 centimeters tall. The stems have paired branches lined with oppositely arranged, fleshy, linear or oblong green leaves up to 1. 6 centimeters in length. Flowers occur in the leaf axils, alone or in clusters of up to 3, accompanied by small bracts. The flower lacks petals but has five pointed sepals 1 or 2 millimeters long which are white or pink in color, fading white with age.

Alpine pennycress (Noccaea fendleri), also known as wild candytuft, is a small perennial wildflower in the mustard family (Brassicaceae). Native to the western U.S. and northern Mexico, it typically grows in rocky mountain habitats but also occurs at lower elevations on serpentine soils.

This tidy plant forms a basal rosette of leaves and sends up one or more short, unbranched stems topped with clusters of small flowers in early spring. The petals are usually white, sometimes tinged with pink or lavender. The bright flowers stand out beautifully against rocky terrain.

Alpine pennycress is drought-adapted and can be grown from seed, making it a good fit for rock gardens or serpentine-inspired plantings. Like other native mustards, it supports pollinators and serves as a larval host plant for some butterfly species.

Thlaspi montanum ssp. montanum is a native perennial herb that grows in northern California. It tends to grow at elevations from 0-6600 feet.

Nolina bigelovii, Bigelow's nolina or beargrass, is a flowering monocot plant in the Ruscaceae (Butcher's-broom) family that is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It grows in the driest desert areas and at elevations up to 1500 meters, primarily in the Mojave Desert. The genus Nolina has undergone several taxonomic changes. Despite its appearance and common name of Beargrass, it is not a grass. Both the foliage and flowers resemble Yuccas which are in a different family. It was previously grouped in the Liliaceae (Lily) family. The trunklike stem may exceed 2 meters in height, part of which may be underground. In maturity it may branch. The stiff, shreddy leaves are arranged in rosettes about the stem, with up to 150 per rosette. The bases are thick and fleshy and much wider than the rest of the blade. The treelike flower cluster may approach 4 meters in height. The tiny flowers each have six whitish petals a few millimeters in length.

Nolina cismontana, the chaparral beargrass, chaparral nolina, California beargrass, Peninsular beargrass, or peninsular nolina, is a rare species of flowering plant of the Peninsular and Transverse Ranges in California. It is endemic to (known from) only four counties in Southern California: Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Ventura Counties. There are perhaps 15 to 17 occurrences in existence, with a total population estimated between 10,000 and 20,000. This species, previously classified as a subspecies of Nolina parryi, was elevated to species status in 1995. The type specimen is from Trabuco Canyon. The two species differ in morphology as well as habitat and ecology. Nolina cismontana occurs in coastal mountain ranges in dry chaparral and coastal sage scrub habitat on rocky sandstone and gabbro substrates. By contrast, N. parryi is more often found in woodlands on granite soils. The plant is in decline throughout most of its range. Threats include destruction and fragmentation of habitat for development, construction of roads, and agriculture, changes in the fire regime, recreational activity, and non-native species. This species is a "fire-follower", experiencing reproduction and prolific blooming after wildfire. Nolina cismontana grows to 30 centimetres (0. 98 ft) in height but can be much taller, reaching well over 1 metre (3. 3 ft). At ground level is a rosette of 30 to 90 long, narrow leaves which measure up to 140 centimetres (4. 6 ft) long by 3 centimetres (0. 098 ft) wide with a widening at the bases. They are stiff, whiplike, or limp, sometimes waxy in texture, and serrated on the edges. The inflorescence is a compound panicle of whitish flowers interspersed with pointed bracts. The plant is dioecious, with male and female flowers occurring on separate plants.

Nolina interrata is a rare species of flowering plant known by the common names Dehesa nolina and Dehesa beargrass. It is known from about ten occurrences in central San Diego County, California, and fewer than 100 individual plants on land across the border in Baja California. The plant was first described in 1946 when found at the type locality near El Cajon, California, and all the individuals known in California are located within a six-square-mile area there. Although rare, numbering about 9,000 plants total in existence, the species is relatively well protected in its habitat and a proposal for federal protected status was withdrawn. This plant produces a branching stem, part of which grows underground, lined with rosettes of stiff, waxy, blue-green leaves, up to 45 per rosette. The leaves are thick and somewhat fleshy at the bases, and shreddy and serrated along the edges. The erect flower cluster may be up to 1.6 meters tall, bearing branches lined with tiny flowers each with six whitish petals a few millimeters long. The fruit is a papery capsule containing reddish brown seeds about half a centimeter wide.

Nolina parryi (Parry's Nolina or Giant Nolina) is a flowering plant in the family Ruscaceae. It grows in the upper elevations of the Peninsular Range, the Mojave Desert and the southern Sierra Nevada.up to 2100 meters. It can exceed two meters in height, its flower cluster reaching 4 meters. The trunk is up to 60 centimeters in diameter. Leaves are borne in dense rosettes, each with up to 220 stiff linear leaves up to 140 centimeters long and 4 broad. It is dioecious, with separate male and female plants; the flowers are white, produced on the tall plume-like flower cluster that normally appears in late spring. The fruit is a delicate, papery, three-lobed pod.

This plant requires fast draining soil and dry slopes. It needs full sun. This plant is extremely drought tolerant, and after established, it should survive the dry months with no supplementary water. Since it's primarily a desert plant, it's evolved to handle summer monsoons, and tolerates occasional water (1x per month).

Nothocalais alpestris is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name alpine lake false dandelion. It is native to the Cascade Range and nearby ranges in the western United States, where it grows in subalpine forest and meadow habitat. It is a perennial herb growing from a thick caudex and reaching about 25 centimeters tall. The leaves are located around the base of the stem and have toothed, wavy, or smooth edges, and sometimes a thin coat of small hairs. They measure up to 20 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a flower head covered with purple-dotted green phyllaries and containing many yellow ray florets and no disc florets. The fruit from each floret is a cylindrical achene up to a centimeter long, not considering the large pappus of up to 50 hairlike white bristles which may be an additional centimeter in length.

Nothocalais troximoides is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name sagebrush false dandelion. It is native to western North America, including British Columbia and the northwestern United States, where it grows in sagebrush and other plateau and mountain habitat types. It is a perennial herb growing from a thick caudex and producing a woolly stem up to about 25 centiemeters tall. The leaves are located around the base of the stem and often have crinkled wavy edges, and sometimes a thin coat of small hairs. They measure up to 30 centimeters long. The flower cluster is a flower head lined with green, sometimes purple-speckled, phyllaries and containing many yellow ray florets and no disc florets. The fruit is a cylindrical achene up to 1.3 centimeters long not including the large pappus of up to 30 silvery white bristles which may be an additional two centimeters in length.

Nothochelone is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the plantain family containing the single species Nothochelone nemorosa, which is known by the common name woodland beardtongue. Originally described as Penstemon nemorosus, the plant is very similar in appearance to the penstemons, but was separated and placed into its own genus on the basis of slight morphological differences, such as winged seeds. Nothochelone is native to western North America from British Columbia to northern California, where it grows in mountain forests. It is a perennial herb producing an erect, hairy stem up to a meter tall from a caudex. The oppositely arranged leaves are lance-shaped to oval, pointed, toothed, and up to 14 centimeters long. The flower cluster is a panicle of flowers resembling penstemons, widely tubular with two lobed lips and a hairy staminode. The flower may exceed 3 centimeters in length and is light to dark pink in color. The fruit is a capsule containing the small winged seeds.

Notholaena californica is a species of fern known by the common name California cloak fern. It is native to southern California, Arizona, and adjacent northwestern Mexico, where it grows in dry and rocky conditions, often in desert and chaparral habitats. The leaves are divided into often asymmetrical leaflets which are subdivided into lobed segments, the leaf measuring 3 to 20 centimeters in total length, not counting the long, brown petiole. It is hairless and lacks scales. The leaf is covered in grainy exudate known as farina. ChemotypesThe fern comes in two chemotypes which can be distinguished by the color of the farina, white or yellow, and the two are rarely found growing together. The two chemotypes are sometimes treated as subspecies. Subspecies. Notholaena californica ssp. californica' '- Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges Notholaena californica ssp. leucophylla - endemic to northwest San Gabriel Mountains, east San Jacinto Mountain.

Tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus) is an evergreen tree in the beech family (Fagaceae), which includes beeches, oaks, and chestnuts. Despite producing acorns, it is not a true oak. It was formerly classified as Lithocarpus, and some sources may still use that name. Native to the western United States, tanoak grows from southwest Oregon to California, as far south as the Transverse Ranges.

Tanoak is slow-growing but remains a moderate size in garden settings. Unfortunately, it is highly susceptible to sudden oak death (Phytophthora ramorum), which has caused significant mortality within its range.

This tree provides critical habitat for wildlife. Its dense foliage offers cover for resting, hiding, and nesting, while its acorns are an important food source for birds such as Steller’s jay, band-tailed pigeon, varied thrush, and acorn woodpecker.

There are two recognized varieties of tanoak:

• N. densiflorus var. densiflorus – the more common variety
• N. densiflorus var. echinoides – a shrubbier form found in the northern part of its range.

Tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus var. densiflorus) is a native tree or shrub that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow at elevations from 0-4900 feet.

Bush Tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus var. echinoides) is a native tree or shrub that grows in central and northern California. It tends to grow at elevations from 2000-6600 feet.

Nuphar polysepala (the great yellow pond-lily or wokas; syn. Nuphar polysepalum orth. err. , Nuphar lutea subsp. polysepala (Engelm. ) E. O. Beal) is a species of Nuphar native to western North America. The name Nuphar is Greek for "water-lily" and polysepala means many sepals. It is commonly found in shallow muddy ponds from northern Alaska and Yukon southward to central California and northern New Mexico, and can be recognized easily by its large floating leaves and bright yellow blossoms. It reproduces by both seed and rhizome. The rhizomes are underground stems that are thick and fleshy. These rhizomes are hard to pry since they are submerged in mud and are difficult to dig. The leaves float on the water surface, and have an external waxy coating which makes the leaf waterproof and thus allows the leaf stomata to breathe freely; they are glossy green, oval, 10-45 cm long and 7-30 cm wide, with a notch at one side to the leaf stem. The leaves provide shelter for fish. The rhizomes (underground stems) are round and submerged in mud. Flowers and fruit. The flowers are 5-10 cm diameter, and have 6 to 12 (most often 9) bright yellow petal-like sepals; the true petals are small, hidden near the stamens. Inside the flower from top view anthers can be seen as red and true petals are wedge-shaped and are hidden by the stamens. The fruit is a ovoid green to yellowish capsule 4-6 cm (rarely 9 cm) long 3. 5-6 cm wide. They were a significant source of carbohydrates for the Klamath and Modoc peoples who inhabited the area near Oregon's Upper Klamath Lake. Medicinal. Leaves and rootstocks have been used for ulcerous skin conditions and swelling. The rootstock infusion is used as a traditional gargle for mouth, sore throats and douche for vaginal inflammation. The rootstock is prepared from two tablespoon chopped rhizome with one cup boiling water .

Blue toadflax (Nuttallanthus texanus) is an annual (occasionally biennial) wildflower in the Plantaginaceae (plantain) family. It features tiny violet to pale blue, two lipped flowers that bloom atop tall, slender stalks emerging from a basal rosette of narrow leaves. Native to much of the western United States, blue toadflax is commonly found in disturbed soils, but also thrives in dunes, grasslands, and open woodlands.

This plant adds a delicate and subtle touch of color to woodland gardens and naturalized settings. When planted in mass, it can form a soft sea of blue blooms.

Odontostomum is a monotypic genus of flowering plants placed in the Liliaceae, or alternately, the Tecophilaeaceae. It contains the single species Odontostomum hartwegii, which is known by the common name Hartweg's doll's-lily. This wildflower is endemic to northern California, where it can be found in the inner coastal mountain ranges and the Sierra Nevada foothills. It grows in rocky clay and often serpentine soils in grassland and woodland habitat, sometimes near vernal pools. This is a perennial herb growing from an oval-shaped corm up to 3 centimeters wide deep in the soil. The curving, widely branching stem is up to about half a meter in maximum height with linear leaves up to 30 centimeters long sheathing the lower portion. The flower cluster is a raceme or panicle of several flowers on pedicels. Each flower has six white or yellowish petals, the lower parts fused into a veined tube and the tips spreading and then becoming reflexed. At the center of the flower are six stamens and six staminodes in a ring around the gynoecium.

Oemleria cerasiformis, also known as the Osoberry and Indian Plum, is the sole species in genus Oemleria. It is a shrub native to the Pacific coast and ranges of North America, from British Columbia, Canada to Santa Barbara County, California, U.S.A. It is among the first plants to leaf out and flowers early in the spring. It reaches a height of 1.5-5 meter and has lance-shaped leaves 5-12 centimeter long. Native Americans ate them, made tea of the bark, and chewed its twigs to use as a mild anesthetic and aphrodisiac.

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 growing by a stream in Illinois demonstrates its capacity to become a noxious weed if it is introduced elsewhere. This is a perennial herb growing to a maximum height near 1.5 meters. The leaves have blades up to 30 centimeters long borne on petioles up to 35 centimeters in length. The parsley-like leaf blade is divided into serrated, lobed leaflets. The flower cluster is a compound umbel of many flowers with bright white to red-tinged petals.

Oenothera avita is a species of flowering plant in the Onagraceae (Evening Primrose) family known by the common name California Primrose. It is native to parts of the southwestern United States and Baja California, where it can be found in chaparral, higher elevation deserts and woodlands. It is a perennial herb producing a spreading or upright stem up to 80 centimeters long. Young plants have a basal rosette of leaves, while older ones have leaves along the stem, lance-shaped to nearly oval in shape and up to 6 centimeters long. Flowers occur in the upper leaf axils, drooping in bud and becoming erect as they bloom. The four petals are white, fading pink, and may exceed 3 centimeters long. There are three subspecies of this plant, one of which, the rare Eureka Dunes evening primrose (ssp. eurekensis), is a federally listed endangered species. It is sometimes listed as its synonym, Oenothera avita ssp. eurekensis. This subspecies is known from only a few occurrences in the Eureka Valley Sand Dunes in Inyo County, where it grows alongside another dune endemic, the endangered Eureka Valley dune grass (Swallenia alexandrae). The other two subspecies are common.

California Evening Primrose (Oenothera avita ssp. californica) is a native perennial herb that grows in southern and central California. It tends to grow in sandy or gravelly places, at elevations from 0-6200 feet.

Oenothera caespitosa, known commonly as tufted evening primrose and fragrant evening primrose, is a perennial plant of the genus Oenothera native to much of western and central North America. It produces a rosette of lobed or toothed leaves each up to 36 centimeters long around a woody caudex.

Oenothera deltoides is a species of evening primrose known by several common names, including birdcage evening primrose, basket evening primrose, lion in a cage, and devil's lantern. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in sandy habitats from desert to beach. The plant is grayish with basal, deltoid leaves. The large white flowers turn pinkish as they mature. When the plants die, the stems curl upward and form the "birdcage" for which the common name is derived.

Antioch Dunes Evening Primrose (Oenothera deltoides ssp. howellii) is a rare (federally endangered) native perennial herb that grows in Central California, primarily in the SF Bay region. It tends to grow in dunes, at elevations from 0-5900 feet.