The Calico Cactus (Echinocereus engelmannii) is commonly found in desert areas of the southwestern United States and the adjacent areas of Mexico, including the states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Baja California and Sonora. In California it is found in the lower Colorado and Mojave deserts. There are five recognized varieties in the state. Calico Cactus grows in clusters, sometimes up to 20 and more stems. Its bright magenta flowers bloom in April in its southern extremes to late May at northern locations. The flowers are borne at the upper half to one third of the stem. They are funnelform in shape, up to 3.5 inches long with dark-green stigmas. The fruit is very spiny. At first it is green, becoming pink and drying when ripe. The ripe fruit has spines which are easily detached. The seeds are black, and around a tenth of an inch in size. The stems are initially cylindrical and erect in young plants, but later with the stem base lying on the ground. The stems are usually 1.5 to 3.5 inches in diameter and up to 25 inches high, and obscured by heavy spines which tend to angle downwards. The plants have around 10 ribs, which are somewhat flattened and tuberculate. It is not often used, even in desert gardens, because it is very slow growing and tends to not flower until it has reached mature size. Nevertheless, the flowers are a beautiful reward for the patient desert gardener.

Engelmann's Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus engelmannii var. acicularis) is a native shrub that grows in southern California.

Engelmann's Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus engelmannii var. armatus) is a native shrub that grows in southern California.

Engelmann's Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus engelmannii var. chrysocentrus) is a native shrub that grows in southern and central California.

Howe's Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus engelmannii var. howei) is a rare native shrub that grows in southern California.

Echinocereus triglochidiatus is a species of hedgehog cactus known by several common names, including kingcup cactus, claretcup, and Mojave mound cactus. This cactus is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it is a resident of varied habitats from low desert to rocky slopes, scrub, and mountain woodland. It is most abundant in shady areas. There are a number of varieties of this highly variable cactus species, but not all are universally recognized. In general it is a mounding cactus, forming bulbous piles of few to hundreds of spherical to cylindrical stems. It is densely spiny and somewhat woolly. The showy flower is a funnel shaped bloom up to 8 or 9 centimeters wide and bright scarlet red to orange-red petals. There is a thick nectar chamber and many thready pink stamens at the center of the corolla. The flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds.

Echinochloa muricata is a species of grass known by the common names rough barnyard grass and American barnyard grass. It is native to Eurasia and much of North America. It is an annual grass growing one half to one meter in height.

Echinodorus berteroi (upright burhead or cellophane sword) is an aquatic plant species in the Alismataceae It is native to the southern and central parts of the United States, as well as Central America, the West Indies, and South America as far south as Argentina. Submersed leaves often modified into phyllodes, 10 - 45 cm long x 0. 5 - 4 cm wide, linear to narrowly elliptical, of very variable shape and size, light-green, membraneously transparent, network between the veins often lighter or darker, thus the submersed leaves often appearing mosaic-like coloured. Emerse leaves long-petioled, 5 - 55 cm long, blades light-green, cordate, 5 - 12 cm long x 3 - 5 cm wide, in terrestrial dwarf forms the blades are ovate, truncate at the base, 2 - 5 cm long x 1 - 2 cm wide. In the blades there are very clear pellucid lines 1 - 5 mm (exceptionally up to 11 mm) long. Stem upright, inflorescence compound, branched in lower whorls. In terrestrial forms stem only 6 - 10 cm long. Corolla white, about 1. 5 cm in diameter, stamens 12, achenes numerous in echinate head, nutlets grey-brown, 2. 5 - 3. 5 mm long x 1 - 1. 3 mm wide, broadly keeled, with 2 winged ribs alternating with 3 non-winged ribs; facial gland single, close to the beak, indistinct or quite absent. Mature specimens may have between 10 - 30 leaves. most of them differing in shape and size. Prefers a larger tank with a deep, rich substrate and good light. It is easy to grow but will soon outgrow the average aquarium. Can be divided, or in submerse plants, adventitious plantlets will form on the infloresence and can be divided and planted out. Seed will be set in emerse plants, and can be planted out in shallow trays with sand and shallow warm water. Prefers soft, rather acid water. Sub-tropical to tropical temperatures. It doesn't seem to thrive in hard water. Will grow in and by the pond in warmer regions, but must be protected from frost.

False daisy (Eclipta prostrata) is a plant in the Sunflower family with a long history in traditional medicine. The common name false daisy comes from the plant's tiny, daisy-like flowers. Other common names include yerba de tago and bhringraj. It grows in moist areas in California and many other places throughout the world. False daisy is sometimes classified as a weed.

False daisy has many chemical compounds (including flavonoids and steroids) that make it an important medicinal plant. It has been used to treat a wide range of health conditions, including a variety of skin, liver, and stomach ailments. It has also been used as a treatment for hair loss and snakebites.

This plant has a spreading growth habit and can quickly colonize disturbed areas. It tolerates many soil types, as long as it gets enough water. The small flowers appear in summer and can attract native pollinators. The center of the flower turns into a seed head after blooming. The leaves are lance-shaped and covered in hairs.

Ehrendorferia chrysantha (syn. Dicentra chrysantha) is a species of flowering plant in the Fumariaceae, a family of showy wildflowers sometimes included in the Papaveraceae, the poppies. Its common name is golden eardrops. This plant is native to California and Baja California, where it lives in dry, brushy areas and thrives on periodic chaparral wildfire. This is a somewhat bushy taprooted perennial herb which may reach 1.5 meters in height. It has many tall, smooth stems with long waxy pale leaves which are divided into many lobes and leaflets. Atop each branch of each stem is a panicle of bright yellow aromatic flowers. Each flower has curving, pointed outer petals sculpted outward from the center of the flower, which is covered by a ridge made up of the inner petals. The fruit is a capsule one or two centimeters long.

Ehrendorferia ochroleuca (formerly Dicentra ochroleuca), commonly known as white eardrops or yellow bleeding-heart, is a biennial or perennial, native to gravelly areas in the chaparral and woodlands of California (Peninsular, Transverse, and southern Coast Ranges) and in Baja California. Stems and leaves are glaucous. Stems grow 1-2 m (3. 3-6. 6 ft) tall; the record is 4 m (13 ft), the tallest of any species in the Fumarioideae. Leaves are pinnately divided 2-4 times. They grow in a basal rosette the first year and later also on flowering stems. Stems and leaves are glaucous. Stems grow 1-2 m (3. 3-6. 6 ft) tall; the record is 4 m (13 ft), the tallest of any species in the Fumarioideae. Leaves are pinnately divided 2-4 times. They grow in a basal rosette the first year and later also on flowering stems. Flowers are up-facing, in round clusters at the end of the stems. They have 2 round sepals and 4 dull white petals with purple tips. The 2 outer petals are pouched at the base and curved outwards at the tip. The 2 inner petals are connected at the tip and project out from between the outer petals. The flowers have no odor, unlike the closely related species Ehrendorferia chrysantha. Hummingbirds visit the flowers for nectar. Seeds are tiny and bumpy, in a rounded pod 1-3 cm (0. 39-1. 18 in) long, tapering to a point at both ends. They lack the elaiosomes present in many other members of the family. They do not easily germinate without being exposed to smoke. In cultivation, a liquid smoke extract is often used.

Eleocharis acicularis is a species of spikesedge known by the common names needle spikerush and dwarf hairgrass. It has a circumboreal distribution and it can also be found throughout the rest of the Americas. It lives in Australia, where it was probably an introduced species. This is an annual or perennial spikesedge with long, grasslike stems to about 15 centimeters in height, shorter in bog conditions, from a creeping rhizome. In shallow water it will form short spikes of tiny flowers amongst flat overlapping leafs. The tiny flowers are less than five millimeters in diameter and are borne at the tip of each stem in single, sharply pointed, lanceoloid spikelets up to about six millimeters long. This is a plant of marshes, vernal pools, and bogs, and it is also used as an aquarium plant. It thrives with plenty of light and a high concentration of carbon dioxide.

Eleocharis atropurpurea is a species of spikesedge known by the common name purple spikerush. This is an aquatic plant native to much of (Africa, eastern and southern Asia, Australia, Latin America). It also has a wide distribution in temperate regions of North and South America and Asia. It is present in Europe, where it may be an introduced species for the most part. Eleocharis atropurpurea can be found in wet areas from ocean shores to rice fields and irrigation ditches to inland lakes and rivers. This is an annual sedge rarely exceeding ten centimeters in height. It grows in tufts with few reddish-green leaves and many thin erect stems. Atop each stem is an oval-shaped, pointed inflorescence consisting of a spikelet under a centimeter long and containing at least ten flowers. Each tiny flower is covered by a bract which is a purplish-brown color. The fruit is a minute shiny black achene less than a millimeter long.

Eleocharis bolanderi is a species of spikesedge known by the common name Bolander's spikerush. It is native to the western United States from Colorado west to Oregon and California. It grows in wet spots in several types of habitat, including mountain meadows and springs. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing erect, hairless stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall. The narrow, wispy leaves often have purple or reddish speckles and purplish tinting around the bases. The inflorescence is an oval-shaped spikelet at the tip of the stem under a centimeter long and made up of several dark brown, sometimes purple-tinged flowers.

Eleocharis coloradoensis is a rare native grass that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in marshes and wet places, at elevations from - feet.

Eleocharis macrostachya is a species in the Cyperaceae (Sedge) family known by the common name Common Spikerush. It is widely distributed across North America and occurs in parts of South America. It is a plant of varied moist habitats, including freshwater lakes and brackish marshes and ponds, ditches, vernal pools, and wet meadows. This is a rhizomatous perennial generally reaching heights between one half and one meter. It has bright green erect stems and straw-colored basal leaves. The top of each stem is occupied by a narrow, lance-shaped or cylindrical flower cluster. The spikelet is one or two centimeters long and has at least ten flowers, each covered with a purplish-brown leaf. The fruit is a yellow or yellow-brown achene with a whitish cone-shaped tubercle on one end, measuring one or two millimeters long. The plant spreads by rhizomes and can fill up an area of suitable moisture.

Eleocharis montevidensis is a species of spikesedge known by the common name sand spikerush. It is native to South America and as far north as the southernmost United States from California to the Deep South, where it grows in moist, sandy spots in many habitat types, including lakes, riverbanks, wet meadows, and springs. It is sometimes cultivated as an aquatic plant for water gardens. This is a rhizomatous perennial herb forming tufts or mats of erect, firm stems up to half a meter tall. The narrow grasslike leaves are dark purplish or reddish brown at the bases, becoming lighter in color toward the tips, and drying to a thin, papery texture. The flower cluster is an oval-shaped spikelet appearing at the tip of the stem. It is under a centimeter long and made up of several flowers covered in brownish leafs.

Eleocharis obtusa is a species of spikesedge known by the common name blunt spikerush. This plant is widely distributed across Canada and the United States, where it grows in wet areas such as riverbanks and moist forest floors. It is also a weed of rice paddies, especially when the rice plants are young sprouts. This is an annual spikesedge approaching half a meter in maximum height. It has many green cylindrical stems which are erect but weak and spongy. There may be thin, grasslike leaves toward the base of the plant, which are generally straw-colored. Atop each stem is a rounded or oblong spikelet containing at least ten flowers, each covered by an oval-shaped brown bract.

Ovate Spikerush (Eleocharis ovata) is a native grass that grows in central California.

Eleocharis palustris (common spike-rush, creeping spike-rush or marsh spike-rush) is a species of mat-forming perennial plants in the genus Eleocharis (and subgenus Eleocharis) growing in wetlands in Europe, North Africa, northern and central Asia (Siberia, China, Mongolia, Iran, Nepal, etc. ) and North America (US, Canada, Greenland, northern Mexico). Eleocharis palustris is not easily distinguished from other closely related species and is extremely variable worldwide itself. Numerous names have been proposed for subspecies and Varieties: The following are recognized:

Eleocharis parishii is a species of spikesedge known by the common name Parish's spikerush. It is native to Northern Mexico, the Southwestern United States (from southwestern Oregon and California east to Kansas and western Texas). It grows in moist and sandy habitats with fresh to brackish water. Eleocharis parishii is a rhizomatous perennial herb forming mats of ridged stems up to 0. 5 metres (1. 6 ft) tall. The narrow leaves are dark purplish to brown at the bases and becoming lighter in color toward the tips. The inflorescence is a lance-shaped spikelet appearing at the tip of the stem and measuring up to 1. 5 centimeters long. It contains many flowers covered in dark brown bracts.

Eleocharis parvula is a species of spikesedge known by the common names dwarf spikerush and small spikerush. It is has a circumboreal distribution, growing throughout Eurasia and North America, into Central America. It is a plant of brackish and saltwater habitat, such as marshes and mudflats. It is a perennial herb growing tufts of spongy, compressible stems not more than 10 centimeters tall. The plant grows from a tuber which is J-shaped or horseshoe-shaped, a characteristic that helps in the identification of the species. The flower cluster is an oval-shaped spikelet just 2 or 3 millimeters long, made up of several tiny flowers.

Eleocharis quinqueflora is a species of spikesedge known by the common names fewflower spikerush and few-flowered spike-rush. It is widespread across Europe, North Africa, northern Asia (Siberia, China, Kazakhstan, Himalayas, etc. ), and North America (Canada, Greenland, northern and western US). There are also isolated populations in Argentina and Chile. Eleocharis quinqueflorais a resident of wet meadows, bogs, hot springs, and other moist places. This is a rhizomatous perennial approaching a maximum height of 40 centimeters. The thin, flattened stems are surrounded by papery reddish to green leaf sheaths and topped with dark inflorescences. The spikelet is lance-shaped to oval and less than a centimeter long. It contains two to seven flowers, each of which is covered with a brown or black bract. The fruit is a yellow-brown achene two or three millimeters long.

Eleocharis radicans is a species of spikesedge known by the common name rooted spikerush. This aquatic or semi-aquatic plant is native to the Americas as far north as Virginia and northern California. It grows in wet places such as streams, lakes, bogs, and moist meadows, where it roots on soaked ground or floats in the water. This is a rhizomatous, mat-forming perennial with thread-thin, spongy stems. It may have several thin leaves. The stems are topped with papery spikelets about half a centimeter long at maximum size and containing 4 to 12 flowers, each covered with a light-colored leaf. The fruit is a minute white or yellow achene less than a millimeter long.

Eleocharis rostellata is a species of spikesedge known by the common name beaked spikerush. It is widespread across North America (including Mexico, Guatemala and the West Indies), with isolated populations in Argentina. Eleocharis rostellata occurs in many types of wetland habitat, especially saline and alkaline water bodies such as hot springs, fens, and salt marshes. Eleocharis rostellata is a rhizomatous perennial herb growing up to 1. 2 meters tall with spongy, compressible stems. The stem bends and droops and if the tip touches moist soil it may root there and grow more stems. The plant also reproduces by seed and vegetatively by sprouting from bits of rhizome. The inflorescence is a single spikelet up to 2 centimeters long made up of many tiny flowers covered in light brown, sometimes purple-spotted bracts.

Eleocharis torticulmis is a rare species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names twisted spikerush and twist-stem spikerush. It is endemic to Plumas County, California, where it is known from two locations within a kilometer of each other in the Butterfly Valley Botanical Area. It grows in open wet habitat such as fens and meadows. It was separated from Eleocharis suksdorfiana and described to science as a new species in 2001. This perennial spikerush grows from a tiny rhizome and a small, hard caudex. It produces a tuft of erect stems 20 to 40 centimeters tall. Each stem is spirally twisted and contracted near the tip, becoming somewhat flattened. The spikelet is under a centimeter long and contains up to 10 tiny flowers.

Elodea canadensis (American or Canadian Waterweed or Pondweed) is a perennial aquatic plant, or submergent macrophyte, native to most of North America. It was first recorded from the British Isles in about 1836. Native to most of North America. Widely naturalised in the British Isles (female plants only). In Ireland found at several sites along the Eglinton Canal, County Galway and Co. Down. and from the Lagan Canal near Lisburn, Ireland.

Elodea nuttallii is a species of waterweed known by the common name western waterweed or Nuttall's waterweed. This is a perennial aquatic plant which is native to North America where it grows submersed in lakes, rivers, and other shallow water bodies. It is also found in Eurasia, where it is commonly weedy; it is not known as a weed species in its native range. It is sometimes used as an aquarium plant. The first european evidence of Elodea nuttallii was probably 1914 in England, though it had been determined wrongly as Hydrilla verticillata. It is a invasive species to Europe and is now covering practically the whole continent.

Elymus californicus is a species of wild rye known by the common name California bottlebrush grass. This grass is endemic to California where it is an uncommon species known from a few counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. It grows between one and two meters in height. The tall, erect stem is nearly naked, bearing the occasional sheathing leaf with a blade 10 to 20 centimeters long. It bears an erect flower cluster which curves as it becomes heavier in grain. Each flower cluster is divided into three or four nodes with three or four spikelets per node. Each spikelet is between one and two centimeters long, not counting a long awn about two centimeters long.

Leymus cinereus is a species of wild rye known by the common names basin wild rye and giant wild rye. It is a common native grass of western North America, including western Canada and the United States from California to South Dakota and Minnesota. It grows in many types of habitat, including grassland and prairie, forests, scrub, chaparral, and sagebrush. This is a perennial grass forming large, tough clumps up to 2 meters tall and sometimes exceeding one meter in diameter. It has a large, fibrous root system and sometimes small rhizomes. The flower cluster is an unbranched, cylindrical spike divided into up to 35 nodes with several flower spikelets per node.

Giant wildrye (Elymus condensatus) is a grass that grows in bunches or clumps, has a distinctive silver blue hue, and does not die back in any season. It grows in California and northern Mexico in coastal sage scrub, chaparral and woodlands, rarely in wetlands. 

This grass makes a nice drought-tolerant lawn substitute. It spreads by rhizomes (underground roots) but not rapidly; it can be easily contained in the area you want it to fill. 

It often hybridizes with Leymus triticoides, producing the common hybrid grass Leymus x multiflorus. The cultivar 'Canyon Prince' from the Channel Islands is often used in landscapes or gardens because it is somewhat smaller and more compact.

Giant wildrye supports butterflies and moths.

Horticultural selection from Elymus condensatus. This medium grass, a selection of the hardy Leymus condensatus, has striking blue-green foliage that adds interest and color contrast to any landscape. Its powdery blue flower stalks grow 1' -2' above the broad leaves and can be cut and used in floral arrangements. This specimen grass can be used in a variety of ways; filling large patio containers or spilling over small planters. The foliage color contrasts nicely with the dark green of Ceanothus or Manzanitas. In addition to its aesthetic value, it is a great slope stabilizer, adaptable to many soils, drought tolerant but will also tolerate watering. Cut back every few years for best appearance.

Horticultural selection L. condensatus: origin = cuttings (1968) by Ralph Philbrick, Prince Island off san Miguel Island, santa Barbara Co.; intro sBBG 1986. Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selection of E.condensatus from prince Island off of san Miguel Island. Introduced by santa Barbara Botanic Garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selected from population occuring north of santa Barbara.

Elymus elymoides is a species of wild rye known by the common name squirreltail. This grass is native to most of North America west of the Mississippi River. It occurs in a number of ecosystems, from alpine forest to desert sage scrub to valley grassland. It is a perennial bunch grass growing to around half a meter in height. Its erect solid stems have flat or rolled leaf blades. The flower cluster is up to 15 centimeters long and somewhat stiff and erect, with spikelets one or two centimeters long not counting the awn, which may be 9 centimeters long and sticks straight out, making the flower cluster look like a bottlebrush. This grass is considered a very good forage for sheep. It is best for grazing during the winter, when it is small and green. It becomes less palatable to livestock when its awns grow long and sharp at maturity.

Squirreltail (Elymus elymoides ssp. elymoides) is a native grass that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in dry open places, at elevations from 2600-13100 feet.

Blue wildrye (Elymus glaucus) is a perennial bunchgrass that grows upright to about 4 feet. It grows as narrow tufts of several erect stems and spreads outward by rhizomes.  It is a common and widespread species native to North America from Alaska to New York to northern Mexico. 

Blue wildrye is a crucial soil stabilizer, habitat creator, and food source for local wildlife. The seeds are a food source for native mammals and birds.

This is a popular accent grass for the garden, providing green to blue green color and texture contrast. It can hybridize with other species of Elymus to produce highly variable forms. 

Western Rye Grass (Elymus glaucus ssp. glaucus) is a native grass that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in open places, at elevations from 0-8200 feet.

Blue Wildrye (Elymus glaucus ssp. virescens) is a native grass that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in open places, at elevations from 0-1000 feet.