This woody shrub is native to Baja California. It has bright red duster-like flowers and pea-like leaves that attract bees and hummingbirds. It is a drought tolerant plant and loves full sun.

This interesting tree is found within Baja California. Its leaves are thin but have a serrate (jagged) margin. The flowers are pink with a yellow center. As the plant blooms, the newer flowers grow in front of the older flowers while the older flowers mature into winged fruits. These fruits will then be dispersed by the wind.

The coastal redwood is one of the most unique plants in California! It is an evergreen tree that can live to be around 2,200 years old or more. These trees can grow to be 379 feet and have a diameter of 26 feet. It best lives in coastal California and Oregon where the winters are cool and the summers are foggy. For their impressive size their cones are quite small.

This plant from the sunflower family is a shrub native to coastal southern California and northern Baja. It is part of the chaparral and coastal sage scrub communities, living on dry mesas, canyons, and slopes. The showy yellow flowers of this plant can be seen most of the year.

The boojum tree is often considered to be the strangest tree on Earth which is native to Baja California and part of the Sonoran desert. It has a single conical stem with numerous small twigs around the whole tree. While it can live for centuries, it grows very slowly and can take 10 to 20 years to reach one foot in height. The boojum tree usually loses its leaves in drought and develops more when it starts to rain. In late summer, it develops yellow tubular flowers towards the top of the tree which attract insects and birds.

This fern is widespread and found on all continents except Antarctica! It also grows in a variety of habitats from the woods, fields, and marshes.

This lovely perennial is also known as the Apricot Mallow. It grows in the western United States including California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, as well as Baja California. It has fuzzy leaves and beautiful flowers that bees love to visit! You can find this plant in the Cultivar and Flower Garden.

This shrub has sweet-smelling flowers that bloom in clusters. It is found throughout the coastal mountain ranges of the southern half of California and into Baja California.

It is native to the West Coast of the United States from Washington to California, and into Baja California, Mexico.

Baja pitcher sage, Lepechinia hastata, is a shrub native to Baja California and Socorro Island, MX and it can be 1-8 ft tall. Though this plant is not in California, it is part of the California Floristic Province. The California Floristic Province is defined by a Mediterranean-type climate characterized by long dry summers and winter rains. Flowers are purple-reddish in color and attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

Big sagebrush is one of the most iconic plants of the American West, especially the Great Basin where vast areas are dominated by this shrub. It's silvery leaves often have three teeth, which gives it the species name tridentata. The three teeth are less prominent on our local subspecies though. Sagebush shouldn't be confused with sage. Both smell great but are in totally different plant families.

This spiky plant from Baja California has the distinction of being in a monotypic genus. What does that mean? Within the genus Acanthogilia, this is the only species. In most genera, there are several species that are relatively closely related. It's fairly rare for a species to have no close relatives.

There are 18 species of oaks growing in the garden. The fruit of an oak is called an acorn, which you'll likely see squirrels and maybe woodpeckers collecting and storing. In some years an oak will produce a huge number of acorns relative to other years. This is called masting. Years of very high acorn production overwhelm the animals that would eat them, so many of the acorns the animals store in those years are not eaten and have a chance to grow into new trees and shrubs.

Common sunflowers are the tall plants with yellow flowers that greet you in the Wildflower Meadow when you first step into the garden. This species is native to much of North America where it has been cultivated by Indigenous Americans for thousands of years. The sunflowers you grow with giant flowers are this same species but selectively bred for bigger flowers and thus the bigger, tasty sunflower seeds you eat.

The genus name Cercocarpus means tailed-fruit, which you can see in the photo is an appropriate name for this plant. The hairs on the tail help the fruit better catch the wind and blow it to new locations. The tail curls when dry and uncurls when moist. This change between curled and uncurled can actually drill the seed into the soil where it may grow to become a new shrub.

The sticky monkeyflowers are the only shrubby monkeyflowers in California and named for the often sticky leaves. These species have a wide variety of flower colors that are made even wider by cultivated hybrids. The garden has a nice sampling of both native species and cultivars derived from them. The most common color you'll see is orange but you can find flowers that are red or yellow. Try looking for them on the western portion of the loop trail in the CA plant communities garden.

California pipevine has possibly the most bizarre flowers of any plant in the garden. These flowers have an odor that attracts carrion feeders like some flies. Because of the odd shape of the flower, these flies may get temporarily stuck and disoriented inside, picking up extra pollen while trying to find their way out. California pipevine is also the host plant for the pipevine swallowtail butterfly.

Presumably named for the long-tubed yellow flowers, golden currant also has fruit that is sometimes golden. Interestingly, the ripe fruit of golden currant can range in color from yellowish orange to red to black, even in the same population. This shrub is common in the communities section of the garden.

Did you know that the California Floristic Province also includes part of Baja California in Mexico? Visit the Baja California section of the garden to see these beautiful pale blue palms and other species from the southernmost reaches of the California Floristic Province.

Beautiful any time of year due to their red bark and elegant form, manzanitas are most spectacular in the winter and early spring when in flower. There are ~35 species and even more cultivars of manzanita at California Botanic Garden. How many can you find?

Who can resist a plant that goes without water for months and then rewards us with bright red hummingbird pollinated flowers in late summer? California fuschia occurs in diverse habitats across most of California. Numerous cultivars have been selected for their growth forms, stature and leaf color. There is even one called ‘Route 66!’ How many different forms can you identify during your visit to California Botanic Garden?

Perhaps one of the most endangered trees in all of North America, this beautiful tree is native to Catalina Island. There are only seven known individuals left in the wild! Here at the garden, though, these trees are thriving!

These vines produce large, magnificent flowers. Typically white, their petals can also be pale purple or blue.

In the sunflower family, this plant produces cute yellow flowers throughout the year. It is native to the Sierra Nevada, coastal ranges in California, and Baja California - but it also would be great in your yard!

These gorgeous yellow flowers can be spotted throughout the garden. During the summer it produces blue berries that look like grapes - giving it the namesake Oregon Grape!

De la Mina verbena, also known as purple Cedros Island verbena, is a beautiful shrub with green wrinkled leaves and fragrant, rich purple blossoms that grow in clusters on long stems. It only grows naturally on Cedros Island, off the coast of Baja California. However, it can grow in well-drained soils in South-western and Southern U.S. This lovely plant blooms almost year round, grows fast, and is drought tolerant.

Also known as beloperone, the vibrant chuperosa is a shrub with green, succulent-like leaves and lots of long, tubular flowers that come in different shades of red or sometimes yellow. Hardy and beautiful, chuparosa grows in hot, dry, and sandy or rocky places in Southern California, Arizona, and North-western Mexico. This plant also attracts a lot of hummingbirds and other birds. In fact, its name “chuparosa” meant “hummingbird” in Spanish!

Deliciously fragrant, woolly blue curls is a shrub with bright green and narrow leaves and rich blue and purple, curly, and woolly flowers that grow on stalks. Though they tend to grow towards the coast in western parts of California, they grow in dry, sunny areas in California and Baja California. This plant is very attractive to hummingbirds. Bees and butterflies, like the Variable Checkerspot butterfly, love it too! Its leaves are also said to make a very delicious tea.

Similar to the widespread naked buckwheat (Eriogonum nudum), island buckwheat had long "naked" stems with most of its leaves at the base of the plant. Island buckwheat is native to the Channel Islands but is widely cultivated.

Toyon is also known as the California holly for its bright red berries. Toyon also has small, white flowers in clusters and spiked, dark green leaves. It grows in dry, sunny areas in Western California, and is an important resource for animals. Butterflies and bees depend on the flowers for nectar, and the berries serve as food for many species of birds, squirrels, coyotes, bears, and even humans! Native Americans traditionally use this berry to make into a drink. Many benefit from the toyon’s beauty and berries. Visit it today!

Bladderpod is a shrub with many branches, blue-green, circular leaves, and beautiful bright yellow flowers that grow in clusters. It tends to bloom year round and can be found from the coast to the deserts in Southern and Baja California. Named after its puffed up, edible seed pods, this hardy plant attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees. It also gives off an interesting fragrance that is a source of debate: some think the smell is pleasant while others think the complete opposite. Visit the bladderpod today and discover what you think of it!

The Channel Island tree poppy is a rare, tall shrub with beautiful, bright, and fragrant yellow flowers and smooth, silvery leaves. They grow fast in dry areas and they only grow naturally on the Channel Islands. Did you know that this drought-tolerant plants’ seeds germinate better after a fire?

Common and beautiful, the black sage is a shrub with dark green leaves and mildly fragrant purple, blue, or white flowers that are in raised clusters. It quickly grows in sunny and dry areas, especially near the coast, from Central California to Baja California. It also provides food for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, quail, and for us too! Black sage is famous for its honey. Sages are also famous for their medical properties; black sage has antimicrobial oils, is used to help with respiratory problems, is anti-inflammatory, and is used by Native Americans to treat arthritis.

The California brittlebush is hardy and tall with bright yellow flowers that form in clusters on thin stems. They can grow in a variety of places, including rocky or marshy areas, throughout California and Baja California. This perky plant grows fast, loves the sun, and is perfect for bees and butterflies like the Painted Lady.

Desert marigold and their tall, radiant yellow flowers are perfect pops of color in gardens. They thrive in dry, sunny, and rocky areas in the southwestern parts of the U.S. and in northern Mexico. Desert marigolds are not true marigolds (Tagetes spp.) but both are members of the aster family (Asteraceae).

This drought-tolerant and lovely shrub has small, fuzzy leaves and white, small flowers that grow in dense clusters on the bush. It can be found growing all over sandy areas, such as canyons and dried riverbeds, throughout Central and Southern California. California buckwheat’s beautiful flowers change color from white to pink to burnt orange as the plant dries and the season progresses, and has been used by Native American communities as a medicine to alleviate head and stomach aches, promote heart health, and aid in digestion.