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.

The plants stand tall and upright, growing about four feet and sporting attractive heart shaped, fuzzy leaves. As this rare native perennial likes to grow in wet soil along streams and ponds, you will be certain to find it near the Reflecting Pond here at the garden. Consider planting this perennial along a sunny border of your native rain garden. When in fruit, it produces capsules that are filled with round seeds.

Coyote brush is a common native shrub that grows from the coastal regions, the central valley, and the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada. They have white flowers, sometimes yellow or with yellow components, that typically bloom in the winter. In bloom, they look as if the bush is covered with a plethora of white dots. There are many cultivars of the coyote bush in the gardens. How many can you find?

During the summer it produces blue berries that look like grapes - giving it the namesake Oregon Grape! While it looks like a grape, it is actually a barberry. It likes to grow in the mountains and foothills throughout California.

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.

There are many species of goldenrod but this is main one found in the gardens. Goldenrods are in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). This native species grows throughout California, mostly in open, grassy places in elevations between 0 to 7500 feet above sea level. It loves to flower around the time when most plants don't so it's great for birds and insects. True to the name, the numerous golden yellow flowers densely cover the tops of the plant when in flower.

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.

A rose-relative native to the desert with white flowers and very unique, wispy fruits. These fruits have pinkish feathery styles that disperses with the wind. While found outside,California, inside the state it is restricted to north of and within the Mojave National Preserve.

This shade-loving monkeyflower can be found along streams throughout California.

Grows low to the ground and has showy white flowers that turn pink with age. It's native to the southwestern US and Baja California, found in chaparral, higher elevation deserts and woodlands. It prefers to grow in sandy or gravely soils.

This local native is one of the standout shrubs in the late fall. When most of the other plants are done flowering for the year, these shrubs color areas with bright yellow.

Rush milkweed grows in the deserts of California and, like other milkweeds, is a host plant for the monarch butterfly. This plant has very narrow leaves that are only present part of the year. It does much of its photosynthesis via its green stems.

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.

Despite the common name, telegraph weed is a native wildflower in California. "Weed" is an arbitrary term used for plants that are unwanted in an area. In a garden of cultivated plants, telegraph weed may legitimately be considered a weed, but in the wilds of California, it is an important part of the ecosystem. It is, however, an invasive weed in wildlands of Australia where it has been introduced.

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.

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.

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?

With its bright red, nectar rich flowers that bloom from spring through fall, this is a favorite of local hummingbirds. This relatively easy to grow perennial has downy, toothed leaves and spreads horizontally, before stretching upward. It is found growing in riparian environments, so should fare well in a moist, partly shady area of your 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.

The enchanting sacred datura is a wildflower with broad, dark-green, wavy leaves and big, white, trumpet-shaped flowers. These flowers have 5 lines that radiate from the center of the flower, can have a slight purple tint, are sweetly fragrant, and are the highlight of the plant. Sacred datura can be found in gravelly open areas or alongside roads throughout the South-western U.S. It is also called sacred thorn-apple since its seeds are in spiky balls. Though this plant is dazzling, it is also dangerous; every part of this plant is quite poisonous. Because of its hallucinogenic properties, this plant has been used historically by Native Americans for sacred ceremonies.

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.

Bearing beautiful flowers and delicious fruit, blue elderberry is a shrub or tall tree with green leaves with little spikes, small cream or yellow flowers in clusters, and purple edible berries that are available in the Fall. Blue elderberry grows in moist places in a large region: from Oregon to Baja California, and eastward to West Texas. Butterflies and bees love elder flowers, and many different types of birds and other small animals love its fruit. Elderberries could also be eaten and made into drinks and dyes.

Immediately recognizable, the California wild grape is vine with leaves that turn red, orange, or yellow in the fall, small yellow-green clusters of fuzzy flowers, and purple grapes. In grows mainly in Central or Northern California where there is more water, but can grow in damp areas here in Southern California. This plant is really drought tolerant though, and its grapes serve as food for humans and small animals. A yellow dye could also be made from its leaves.

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!

This elegant plant has “carpets” of tiny pink-white flowers that grow above its white-green leaves. It only naturally grows on California’s Channel Islands, in the fast-draining, moist, and rocky coastal scrub. St. Catherine’s Lace buckwheat is a very important food source for butterflies such as the Gray Hairstreak and for birds. In late summer and early fall its pinkish-white flowers get a new dark-orange color. This buckwheat has also traditionally been used by Native Americans to alleviate head and stomach aches.

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.

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.