Hayfield Tarweed (Hemizonia congesta ssp. congesta) is a rare native annual herb that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in open grassy places, at elevations from 0-1000 feet.

Hemizonia congesta ssp. lutescens is a common native annual herb that grows in Central and Northern California, primarily in the North Coast and North Coast Range regions. It tends to grow in open grassy places, at elevations from 0-4600 feet.

Hayfield Tarweed (Hemizonia congesta ssp. luzulifolia) is a common native annual herb that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in open places, at elevations from 0-3000 feet.

Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum) is a member of the Apiaceae (Carrot) family and the only member of this genus native to North America. Cow Parsnip is distributed throughout the continental United States and Alaska except the Gulf Coast and a few neighboring states. It is the only native member of this family to occur throughout the U.S. In California it occurs primarily in the northern half of the state. It is relatively large for an herb and features a large flower head consisting of the typical flat-topped umbels of the Carrot family. Chemicals in the plant may cause dermatitis in some individuals. It may be weedy or invasive in portions of its range.

Herissantia crispa is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common names bladdermallow and curly abutilon. It is native to the tropical Americas but it can be found throughout the tropical and warmer temperate world as an introduced species and sometimes a weed. This is a perennial or sometimes annual herb growing up to about 1. 5 meters in maximum stem length, usually taking a trailing or creeping form. It is coated in whitish hairs. The oval or heart-shaped leaves are up to 7 centimeters long with rippled edges. The inflorescence is a solitary flower emerging from a leaf axil, borne on a long-haired pedicel which is half erect and then jointed downward. The flower has five pale yellow oval petals each up to a centimeter long. The fruit is a lantern-like inflated sphere ribbed into segments. It is up to 2 centimeters wide, coated in long hairs, and dehiscent, each segment containing 2 or 3 black kidney-shaped seeds.

Hesperevax acaulis is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name stemless dwarf cudweed. It is native to California and Oregon where it grows in many types of mountain, valley, and coastal habitats, including areas recently affected by wildfire. This petite woolly annual forms a small bunch on the ground. Despite its common name it sometimes has a stem a few centimeters long. The wool-coated leaves appear in pairs or clusters, each leaf measuring a few millimeters to three centimeters long. In the center of the leaf array is the inflorescence, which is a single flower head or tightly packed cluster of several heads, each just a few millimeters wide. The flower head contains several tiny disc florets.

Hesperevax caulescens is a small flowering plant in the daisy family. One common name for the plant is hogwallow starfish, as it is a somewhat flat, star-shaped plant which grows in mud. Another common name is dwarf dwarf-cudweed, as the three members of genus Hesperevax are known as dwarf-cudweeds and this species is smaller than the others. It may also be called involucrate evax, since its former Latin name was Evax involucrata. This annual plant is a member of the vernal pool plant community in California, where it is possibly an endemic species, although its range might extend into Baja California. The hogwallow starfish radiates pale green spoon-shaped leaves in a basal rosette and extends a short erect stem. The flowers are less than two millimeters wide. This species grows along the outskirts of vernal pools in areas which have dried.

Hesperevax sparsiflora is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name erect dwarf cudweed. It is native to California and Oregon, where it grows in several habitat types including sandy coastal areas and the serpentine soils of inland hills. This is a small woolly annual herb reaching maximum heights under 18 centimeters. It has oval to rounded or scoop-shaped leaves on short petioles which vary in morphology across Varieties: Small flower heads appear between the leaves. They contain greenish or whitish disc florets. There are two varieties:

Hesperocallis is a genus of flowering plants that includes a single species, Hesperocallis undulata, the desert lily, found in the desert areas of the southwest of North America. Hesperocallis has traditionally been classified in Liliaceae but until recently its relationships have been unclear. Other classifications have included it in Hemerocallidaceae or Funkiaceae. In 1972, Hamilton Traub created the family Hesperocallidaceae with Hesperocallis as the sole included genus. The APG II system includes it in the family Asparagaceae in the order Asparagales in the monocots clade but allows for the optional segregation of Hesperocallidaceae as a monophyletic family when several other families are likewise segregated. Recent molecular systematic studies have confirmed a close relationship with Agave and its inclusion in family Agavaceae has been recommended (Pires et al. 2004).

Hesperochiron is a small genus of plants in the waterleaf family containing two species native to western North America. These are thick-rooted perennial herbs growing in squat patches at ground level and producing bluish-white flowers with yellow throats. They grow in wet areas such as seepy meadows. The species are generally similar in appearance, with oblong green leaves up to 7 or 8 centimeters long and 2 to 3 wide, often coated with tiny hairs. Hesperochiron nanus, the California hesperochiron, produces slightly larger flowers than the dwarf hesperochiron, H. pumilus.

Hesperochiron is a small genus of plants in the waterleaf family containing two species native to western North America. These are thick-rooted perennial herbs growing in squat patches at ground level and producing bluish-white flowers with yellow throats. They grow in wet areas such as seepy meadows. The species are generally similar in appearance, with oblong green leaves up to 7 or 8 centimeters long and 2 to 3 wide, often coated with tiny hairs. Hesperochiron californicus, the California hesperochiron, produces slightly larger flowers than the dwarf hesperochiron, H. pumilus.

Hesperocnide tenella, also known as western nettle or western stingingnettle, is native to California and northern Baja California. It grows in chaparral, oak woodland, and coastal sage scrub communities up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) elevation. Hesperocnide tenella is an annual plant with slender erect stems that do not exceed 50 centimeters. Like many other nettles, it has stinging hairs that contain formic acid. These hairs are hooked much like the hook part of velcro, and they get caught in the skin and can become very irritating depending on how sensitive the individual is to formic acid. The leaves are ovate, somewhat thin, and opposite in arrangement; the leaves are toothed along the sides, so they appear heavily serrated. Hesperocnide tenella is an annual plant with slender erect stems that do not exceed 50 centimeters. Like many other nettles, it has stinging hairs that contain formic acid. These hairs are hooked much like the hook part of velcro, and they get caught in the skin and can become very irritating depending on how sensitive the individual is to formic acid. The leaves are ovate, somewhat thin, and opposite in arrangement; the leaves are toothed along the sides, so they appear heavily serrated. The inflorescences are round and head-like; they contain both pistillate and staminate flowers. The pistillate flowers have 2 to 4 sepals that are equal and fused to almost the tip, and one ovary. The staminate flowers have 4 sepals and 4 stamens. The flowers measure about a millimeter long. The fruit produced by the flowers are lenticular achenes and are enclosed by the calyx. There are two species in this genus; this one native to California, and the other Hesperocnide sandwicensis, native to Hawaii.

Cupressus abramsiana (Santa Cruz cypress) is a rare North American species of trees in the cypress family. It is endemic to the Santa Cruz Mountains of Santa Cruz and San Mateo Counties in west-central California. When cypresses were discovered in the Santa Cruz Mountains in 1881, they were first identified as Cupressus goveniana, but Jepson (1909) considered them to be Cupressus sargentii. In a detailed analysis, Wolf (1948) concluded it was a distinct species, naming it after L. R. Abrams, Emeritus Professor of Botany at Stanford University.

Cupressus bakeri, the Modoc Cypress, Siskiyou Cypress or Baker Cypress, is a species of cypress native to the United States, in a restricted area of northern California (Siskiyou, Modoc, Shasta and Plumas Counties) and southwest Oregon (very localized in Josephine and Jackson Counties). It is usually found in small, scattered populations, not in large forests, at altitudes of 900-2000 meter. It is a medium-sized evergreen tree with a conic crown, growing to heights of 10-25 meter (exceptionally to 39 meter), and a trunk diameter of up to 0.5 meter (exceptionally to 1 meter). The foliage grows in sparse, usually pendulous sprays, varying from dull gray-green to waxy pale blue-green in color. The leaves are scale-like, 2-5 millimeter long, and produced on rounded (not flattened) shoots. The seed cones are globose to oblong, 10-25 millimeter long, with 6 or 8 (rarely 4 or 10) scales, green to brown at first, maturing gray or gray-brown about 20-24 months after pollination. The cones often remain closed for several years, only opening after the parent tree is killed in a wildfire, thereby allowing the seeds to colonize the bare ground exposed by the fire. The male cones are 3-5 millimeter long, and release pollen in February-March.

Tecate Cypress (Herpericyparis forbesii) is a species of cypress native to Southern California and Mexico. This is a relict species from a time when southern California's climate was cooler and wetter. It survives in a few, isolated locations in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Diego Counties, as well as northern Baja. It depends on intermittent fire for reproduction, but too frequent fires kill seedlings and threaten the survival of the species.

The foliage is bright green with reddish bark. Young trees are pyramidal in shape, becoming more rounded or contorted with age. It is very drought adapted; excessive supplemental water will make it floppy. In recent years, Tecate Cypress has become a fairly popular small tree for Southern California gardens. It makes a great specimen tree for larger landscapes, remaining tight and symmetrical.

The northernmost stand, comprising a very large area on the upper limits of Coal Canyon and Sierra Peak in Orange County, California, burned in a 2006 wildfire. Very few mature trees survived, but hundreds, if not thousands, of new plants are appearing as regeneration. Another devastating wildfire before seedlings are able to reach cone-producing age (which can be quite old for this species), could easily extirpate this stand.

Some refer to Tecate Cypress as a variety of Guadalupe Cypress (Cupressus guadalupensis), which occurs on Guadalupe Island, though that island is well over 250 miles from any Tecate Cypress stand. Aside from the ease of surmising that Tecate Cypress is genetically different from Guadalupe Cypress due to the two species being separated by ocean waters, molecular testing has shown the latter to be slightly more closely related to Cuyamaca Cypress (Hesperocyparis stephensonii).

Moreover, Guadalupe Cypress, when mature, makes a much taller and more massive tree than Tecate Cypress. Tecate Cypress has very green foliage, while Guadalupe Cypress has waxy pale, somewhat blueish tinted foliage. Finally, though cones of Tecate Cypress will not open without heat (unlike any other California native Cypress), those of Guadalupe Cypress will open without fire.

Cupressus goveniana, now reclassified as Hesperocyparis goveniana, with the common names Californian cypress and Gowen cypress, is a species of cypress, that is endemic to California. The tree is endemic to the Monterey Peninsula in coastal Monterey County, located on the Central Coast of California, in the Western United States. The tree is found in small, scattered populations, and not in large forests of its species. Hesperocyparis goveniana occurs with Hesperocyparis macrocarpa (Monterey cypress), in the two groves where the Monterey cypress is known to occur naturally, in Monterey County. It is on the IUCN Red List of endangered species. Hesperocyparis goveniana is an evergreen tree with a conic to ovoid-conic crown, very variable in size, with mature trees of under 1 m (3 ft 3 in) on some sites, to 50 m (160 ft) tall in ideal conditions. The foliage grows in dense sprays, dark green to somewhat yellow-green in color. The leaves are scale-like, 2-5 mm (0. 08-0. 20 in) long, and produced on rounded (not flattened) shoots. The seed cones are globose to oblong, 11-22 mm (0. 43-0. 87 in) long, with 6 to 10 scales, green at first, maturing brown or gray-brown about 20-24 months after pollination. The cones remain closed for many years, only opening after the parent tree is killed in a wildfire, thereby allowing the seeds to colonize the bare ground exposed by the fire. The male cones are 3-5 mm (0. 12-0. 20 in) long, and release pollen in February/March. Typically, cones of H. goveniana are smaller than those of H. macrocarpa. Taxonomy. The varieties or subspecies, formerly included under Cupressus goveniana by some botanists, include:Cupressus goveniana var. goveniana - reclassified as Hesperocyparis goveniana. Monterey County, strictly coastal, within 3 km (1. 9 mi) of the coast and below 200 m (660 ft) altitude. Foliage dark green, not rough, with leaf tips not spreading; cones globose. Cupressus goveniana var. pigmaea, reclassified as Hesperocyparis pygmaea - Mendocino cypress (vulnerable species). Mendocino and Sonoma counties, coastal, within 10 km (6. 2 mi) of the coast and below 500 m (1,600 ft) altitude. Cupressus goveniana var. abramsiana, reclassified as Hesperocyparis abramsiana - Santa Cruz cypress (endangered species). Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties, in the Santa Cruz Mountains 10-20 km (6. 2-12. 4 mi) inland and at 300-760 m (980-2,490 ft) altitude. With yellow-green foliage slightly rough-textured from the acute and slightly spreading leaf tips; cones often oval.

Cupressus macnabiana (McNab Cypress or Shasta Cypress) is a species of cypress endemic to northern California. It is one of the most widely distributed of all the native California cypresses, found growing in chaparral, oak woodlands and coniferous woodlands along the inner northern Coast Ranges and the foothills of the northern Sierra Nevada. It is an evergreen shrub or small tree, 3-12 meter (rarely to 17 meter) tall, with a spreading crown that is often broader than it is tall. The foliage is produced in dense, short flat sprays (unlike most other California cypresses, which do not have flattened sprays), bright waxy pale gray-green in color, with a strong spicy-resinous scent. The leaves are scale-like, 1-2 millimeter long with an acute tip, and a conspicuous white resin gland on the center of the leaf. Young seedlings produce needle-like leaves up to 10 millimeter long in their first year.

Monterey Cypress (Hesperocyparis macrocarpa) is a handsome coniferous tree that's native to California's central coast. Although it's often planted as an ornamental landscape tree in California and elsewhere, just two small populations of Monterey Cypress trees remain in the wild. These remaining trees are very old and grow in protected areas.

Monterey Cypress can grow up to 82 ft in height, making it one of the tallest cypress trees. Young trees have an upright growth habit, while mature trees have a broad sculptural appearance. The trees in the remaining coastal stands are known for their distinctive windswept look. Monterey Cypress has fragrant, dark green needles and textured bark. A single tree produces male and female cones.

Because it can grow quite large, Monterey Cypress needs a large planting area. It does best in cool, moist coastal areas but can grow further inland with additional water. It can tolerate acidic, nutrient-poor soil as long as it's well-draining.

One of the few native plants that the California Invasive Plant Council has determined is invasive in regions outside its natural range. It has invaded coastal prairie, desert scrub, and riparian areas.

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

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Cupressus nevadensis, now reclassified as 'Hesperocyparis nevadensis, with the common name Paiute cypress, is a species of cypress tree native to a small area in Sierra Nevada of California, in the western United States. The Paiute cypress grows in a small area of the Southern Sierra Nevada, within Kern County, California and Tulare County. It is found on soils of granitic origin at altitudes of 3,000-6,000 feet (910-1,830 m). It is found in pinyon/juniper and oak/pine woodlands, chaparral, and closed-cone-cypress forest habitats. The largest grove composed primarily of the species is located south of the town of Bodfish in the Lake Isabella region. There are eight or so other populations of much smaller, scattered stands in the Southern Sierras. Hesperocyparis nevadensis is a medium-sized evergreen tree with a conic crown, growing to heights of 10-25 m (exceptionally to 39 m), and a trunk diameter of up to 0. 5 m (exceptionally to 1 m). The foliage grows in sparse, very fragrant, sprays varying from dull gray-green to glaucous blue-green in color. The leaves are scale-like, highly glandular, resinous and aromatic, 2-5 mm long, and produced on rounded (not flattened) shoots. The seed cones are globose to oblong, 25-55 mm long, with 6 or 8 (rarely 4 or 10) scales, green to brown at first, maturing gray or gray-brown about 20-24 months after pollination. The male cones are 3-5 mm long, and release pollen in February-March. The cones often remain closed for several years, only opening after the parent tree is killed in a wildfire, thereby allowing the seeds to colonize the bare ground exposed by the natural fire. Like most California cypress, it is a pyrophyte, heavily reliant on wildfire for its regeneration. Fire suppression policies of the past decades have severely limited reproduction of this fire dependent species. It is on the IUCN Red List as a vulnerable species.

Pygmy Cypress (Callitropsis pygmaea) is a rare native tree that grows in central and northern California. It tends to grow at elevations from 100-2000 feet.

Cupressus sargentii is a species of conifer in the Cupressaceae family known by the common name Sargent's cypress. It is endemic to California, where it is known from Mendocino county southwards to Santa Barbara county. This taxon is limited to the Coast Range mountains. Like Mcnab Cypress, it is one of the most widespread of the California Cypresses. It grows in forests with other conifers, as well as chaparral and other local mountain habitat, usually in pure stands on serpentine soils. It generally grows 10 to 15 meters tall, but it is known to exceed 22 meters. On Carson Ridge in Marin County, as well as Hood Mountain in Sonoma County, the species comprises a pygmy forest of trees which do not attain heights greater than 8-12 feet due to high serpentine concentrations in the soil.

Cupressus stephensonii is a species of conifer known as the Cuyamaca Cypress. It exists only in the headwaters of King Creek, south of Cuyamaca Peak in San Diego County, California. It was listed as a vulnerable species, but the last assessment occurred in 1998, before the entire world population of the tree was reduced to thirty or forty individuals by the 2003 Cedar Fire. Wolf reported trees as low as 3,000 feet in elevation but the presence of these individuals today has not been verified. Most individuals occur at 4,500 to 5,100 feet in King Creek Research Natural Area. Cupressus stephensonii may attain heights of 10 to 16 meter (33 to 52 feet). It usually forms a spreading tree with a central leader, only slightly taller than it is wide. Female cones about 10 millimeter in diameter, cone scales 6-8, but mostly 6, often, but not always, with conspicuous umbos 3-4 millimeter high and conical. Seeds average 100-125 per cone, not at all waxy pale. Cotyledons 3-4. It is the only California Cypress species to release pollen in the summertime.

Hesperolinon congestum, or Marin Dwarf Flax, is an annual herb, which is known to occur only in San Mateo, San Francisco and Marin County, California, USA. This plant occurs chiefly on serpentine soils, especially in dry native bunch grasses, chaparral or other grasslands at elevations less than 200 meters. The flowers are congested at the tips of the dichotomously branching stems. H. congestum is in flower between April and July. The outlook for this plant depends on survival of only about twenty small colonies, most of which are not actively managed for protection, even though the species is federally and state-listed as threatened. This species is also less commonly known as Marin Western Flax.

Hesperolinon disjunctum is a species of flowering plant in the flax family known by the common name Coast Range dwarf flax. It is endemic to California, where it has a disjunct distribution along the North and Central Coast Ranges. It is a plant of serpentine soils in chaparral habitat. This is an annual herb producing an erect stem up to 30 centimeters tall, somewhat thick and tough at the base. The glandular leaves are linear in shape and are alternately arranged along the stem. The inflorescence is a wide open cyme of flowers, each flower with glandular sepals and pink-veined white petals about half a centimeter long. The protruding stamens are tipped with pink anthers.

Hesperolinon tehamense is a rare species of flowering plant in the flax family known by the common names Tehama County western flax and Paskenta Grade dwarf flax. It is endemic to northern California, where it is known from only about ten occurrences, mostly within Tehama and Glenn Counties. Most of its habitat is on Bureau of Land Management lands and within the Mendocino National Forest, in chaparral ecosystems with serpentine soils. The plant produces thin, hairy stems up to 50 centimeters in maximum height with small, sparse linear leaves. The inflorescence bears several small flowers with pale to bright yellow notched petals just a few millimeters long.

Chaparral yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei)  is a striking, drought-adapted plant known for its dramatic presence year-round and spectacular flowering display. The plant begins as a large, rounded rosette of silver-green, spiky leaves. When mature — typically after 5 to 6 years — it sends up an impressive flower spike that grows 10 to 15 feet tall in just a few weeks. The towering spike is covered with hundreds of bell-shaped flowers, ranging from white to pale purple, creating a stunning visual impact in the landscape.

Native to California and parts of Baja California, chaparral yucca thrives in chaparral, coastal sage scrub, and oak woodland plant communities at elevations of 950 to 8,200 feet. It is well-adapted to rocky, dry soils and plays an important ecological role in its native habitat.

Chaparral yucca forms an exclusive pollinator relationship with the California Yucca Moth (Tegeticula maculata), making it a fascinating example of co-evolution. The moth is the plant's sole pollinator and relies on the yucca for its life cycle. The moth collects pollen from the flowers and deposits it on another flower’s stigma while laying its eggs inside the ovary. The developing moth larvae feed on some of the yucca seeds, while others are left to grow and disperse.

After the flowers are pollinated, the yucca plant dies, a process known as monocarpic reproduction. However, the dried flower stalk often remains standing for several years, creating a natural sculpture in the landscape. New plants emerge from seeds or from offsets at the plant’s base.

Chaparral yucca is also known by several common names, including our lord’s candle, Spanish bayonet, Quixote yucca, common yucca, and foothill yucca. Despite its beauty, it is reportedly difficult to grow outside its native range. However, when planted in the right conditions, it provides a bold accent in native gardens, particularly when combined with rocks or other drought-adapted plants. Care should be taken to place the plant away from pathways, as its sharply pointed leaves can cause injury.

This iconic plant is a resilient symbol of California’s rugged chaparral landscapes, offering both ecological value and ornamental appeal.

Heteranthera dubia is a species of aquatic plant known by the common names water stargrass and grassleaf mudplantain. It is native to North and Central America where it is widespread from Canada to Guatemala. It lives submersed in freshwater such as rivers and lakes. It is quite variable in appearance. The leaves are different sizes and shapes across individuals, partly genetic variation and partly response to water conditions, for example, the speed and turbulence of surrounding currents. Submersed individuals also have a different stem and leaf morphology from those that occur partially or completely out of the water. The inflorescence bears a single short-lived flower that blooms in the morning and wilts in the evening. It has six yellow perianth parts each less than a centimeter long spreading from a tubular throat one to seven centimeters long. There are three long, thick yellow stamens with curling anthers and one yellow style. The fruit is a capsule containing many winged seeds. The plant sometimes has galls in its tissue, which are caused by the parasitic fungus Membranosorus heterantherae.

Heterocodon is a monotypic genus of plants in the bellflower family containing the single species Heterocodon rariflorum, which is known by the common names rareflower heterocodon and western pearlflower. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where it emerges during the spring in wet areas such as meadows. This is an annual herb producing a very thin, erect stem to 30 centimeters in maximum height. It branches few times if at all and is dark green to reddish in color. Leaves are occasional along the stem and are heart-shaped to rounded with a toothed edge. Also at occasions along the stem are the flowers, which emerge from a base of toothed or spiny leaflike sepals a few millimeters long. The corolla of the flower is a cylindrical tube 3 to 5 millimeters long, blue or lavender with darker veining and a lighter throat, and spreading into triangular lobes at the mouth.

Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), also known as Christmas Berry, is an evergreen shrub in the Rose family (Rosaceae). In the summer it produces bunches of fragrant white flowers. In the winter it develops vibrant clusters of scarlet berries. The flowers attract butterflies and other pollinators. The berries are eaten by many birds, including Mockingbirds, American Robins, and Cedar Waxwings. Mammals including coyotes and bears also eat and disperse the berries. For humans, the berries are edible after cooking, or drying and crushing, in order to break down the small amounts of cyanogenic glycosides. Indigenous People use the berries to make cider, and a granular sugar. 

Toyon is a prominent component of the Coastal Sage Scrub plant community, and is a part of drought-adapted Chaparral, Mixed Evergreen Forest and Oak Woodland habitats. Toyon are beautiful plants and easy to grow. If properly situated, they can grow very quickly, up to 10 feet in three years. They like sun or part shade, though they tend to do better in part shade in the southern, drier part of their geographic range. They can handle a wide variety of soils, including clay, sand and serpentine. They are an excellent hedge plant.

Horticultural selection from Heteromeles arbutifolia. A keystone shrub in the native landscape, Toyon (also known as Christmas Berry), is the common name for Heteromeles arbutifolia. Toyon is known as a dependable long lived shrub and valued for the visual appeal of its small white flowers in summer, persistent berries in the winter and evergreen foliage. A cultivar of Heteromeles arbutifolia var. cerina, 'Davis Gold' has striking yellow berries instead of the typical red, and has been noted as having improved resistance to disease. Toyons are very flexible when it comes to light exposure, growing best in sun but tolerating almost full shade. A classic wildlife attractor, birds in particular love to eat the golden berries that linger on the plant. 'Davis Gold' toyon has leathery serrated leaves 2 -4" long and grows well in sandy soils and on slopes with dry, well drained soils. 'Davis Gold' is excellent as a screening plant, hedge, or multi-trunk small tree, reaching a typical height and width of about 6 - 1 '; given ideal conditions and enough time it can grow to 15' or more.This is a selection introduced by UC Davis and it tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Heterotheca grandiflora is a species of flowering plant in the Asteraceae (Sunflower) family known by the common name Telegraph Weed. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, but it can be found in other areas as an introduced species, such as Hawaii. In California it is widespread from Butte County southward. It is a pioneer species and roadside weed even where it is native. This is a tall, bristly, hairy plant exceeding a meter in height and densely foliated in hairy to spiny toothed or lobed leaves. Leaves are smaller and more widely spaced toward the top of the stem, which is occupied by an flower cluster of bright yellow daisylike flower heads. The disc and ray florets drop away to leave a spherical head of achenes, each with a long white pappus. This plant is rarely used in the garden but is a useful for restoration projects.

Heterotheca monarchensis is a rare species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names monarch goldenaster and sequoia false goldenaster. It is endemic to Fresno County, California, where it is known from only one location near Boyden Cave in the Kings River Canyon. It grows in the limestone cliffs of this Sierra Nevada river canyon, along with a few other rare local endemics. The plant was discovered in July, 1995, and described to science as a new species in 1996. This is a perennial herb anchored in the rocky substrate by a taproot and producing one to many erect, spreading stems up to about 18 centimeters tall. The leaves have lance-shaped or oval blades which are densely hairy and bristly in texture, with some resin glands. They measure up to 2. 5 centimeters long by a few millimeters in width and do not become much smaller toward the ends of the branches. The inflorescence contains one to five flower heads, each with up to 19 yellow ray florets measuring 1 to 1. 5 centimeters in length. At the center are many hairy yellow disc florets.

Heterotheca oregona is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name Oregon false goldenaster. It is native to the west coast of Canada and the United States in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California as far south as Los Angeles County. Heterotheca oregona is found in low-elevation mountain forests and chaparral, often near water. This is a perennial herb which is variable in appearance, with four somewhat indistinct Varieties: It reaches a maximum height of 20 centimeters (8 inches) to one meter (40 inches) , and is covered in small bristles. The inflorescence contains 1-15 flower heads in a flat-topped array. Each head has 14-60 yellowish disc florets but no ray florets. The fruit is an achene with a long grayish pappus.