Learn about the many rare and beautiful native plants of the San Francisco Bay Area through this series of informative and well written articles.
Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica ssp. holosericea)
Stinging nettle might seem an odd subject for this column. It’s certainly not rare. And who on earth wants to have an encounter with a […]
Franciscan Manzanita (Arctostaphylos franciscana)
In previous articles, we’ve had the opportunity to pass on exciting news regarding the discovery in San Francisco of botanical treasures long lost or seldom […]
Western Columbine (Aquilegia formosa)
A favorite component of the lush gardens of Europe and the eastern states are the columbines. Fancied for their lacy foliage and exquisite blossoms, the […]
Locally Significant Plants Of San Francisco
Over the years, I’ve touched on the subject of what makes a plant species “significant” in a legal or biological sense. In fact, that is […]
California Saxifrage (Saxifraga californica)
It’s not all that often that we get to report some positive news regarding our local flora. More often than not, especially in the intensively […]
Kellogg’s Yampah (Perideridia kelloggii)
I’ve often wondered about the affinities some of our native wildlife species have for introduced plant species. How did those creatures manage before the Europeans […]
Douglas’ Bluegrass (Poa douglasii)
If you’ve been a long-time reader of this column, you probably know that I have a thing for our native grasses. Previous discussions have covered […]
California Larkspur (Delphinium californicum)
Always a hit in any springtime garden are the larkspurs. Most noted for their tall spikes of deep blue, white, or red flowers with the […]
Hooker’s Fairy Bells (Prosartes hookeri)
Although the common name might look familiar, you probably don’t recognize the Latin name of this member of the lily family (Liliaceae). The generic designation […]
Coast Silk Tassel (Garrya elliptica)
Shifting our focus far from the shores of San Francisco Bay, let’s turn our attention to the scrub-covered coastal hillsides. Hidden among the chaparral, scrub, […]
California Seablite (Suaeda californica)
It’s not often, in the course of our amblings, that we happen upon an endangered species. Not the kind whose days just seem numbered because […]
Saltmarsh Dodder (Cuscuta salina var. major)
Beginning in May, as you drive past the salt marshes rimming San Francisco Bay, you might begin to notice an orange hue starting to spread […]
Choris’s Corn Flower (Plagiobothrys chorisianus var. chorisianus)
Unlike much of the rest of the country, winter in the Bay Area brings renewed life and reminders that spring is not far off. And […]
Quillworts: Nuttall’s Quillwort (Isoetes nuttallii) & Flowering Quillwort (Lilaea scilloides)
As we welcome the rainy season in California, as the hills awaken from their drought-induced dormancy, I thought I’d introduce two taxa that will soon […]
San Francisco’s Native Cherries
San Francisco’s Native Cherries : Bitter Cherry (Prunus emarginata), Hollyleaf Cherry (Prunus ilicifolia), Western Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana var. demissa) When studying vegetation associations, we have […]
Yellow Mariposa Lily (Calochortus luteus)
Based entirely on aesthetics, perhaps no other group of California’s native wildflowers incites more awe than the lilies. Maybe due to the fact that so […]
Tidy Tips (Layia platyglossa)
Having grown up in the nursery business in southern California, my interest in plants centered solely around the unusual and the exotic. In particular, plants […]
California Hazelnut (Corylus cornuta)
In their most familiar form, hazelnuts, or filberts, are marble-sized nuts produced primarily from two European species, Corylus avellana and C . maxima. Hazelnuts are […]
Coffee Fern (Pellaea andromedifolia)
The true ferns, which belong to the Division Pterophyta (Class Filicopsida), first evolved during the so-called Coal Age or Carboniferous Period, which extended from 345 […]
Tuberous Sanicle (Sanicula tuberosa)
Here in San Francisco, with relatively little undeveloped land and three quarters of a million inhabitants, you might be inclined to think that there isn’t […]