Collinsia are annual flowering plants in the same family as Penstemon (Plantaginaceae). These plants flower from late spring through summer. There are 18 species of Collinsia found in California, most of which are native to the Sierra Nevada or the coast.

Firecracker penstemon and scarlet bugler are two red penstemon species that look very similar to one another. Firecracker penstemon grows from the Rocky Mountains to California, but only in the California deserts. Scarlet bugler grows all across the southern California coast and coastal ranges. These two penstemons are excellent attractors for hummingbirds.

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.

Walking through the Communities, you may come across these bright magenta flowers. Charming centaury is an annual herb that is endemic to California. It grows along the coast from San Francisco Bay to Santa Barbara. It is also found on the Channel Islands. If you look closely at the flowers, you may notice how the stamens (has pollen) are a cork-screw shape!

This plant may not look like your typical sunflower, but it is part of the Asteraceae family. It is native to the coasts of western North America from Washington to Baja California. The quaint white flowers are often used in flower arrangements.

This creeping plant looks similar to honeysuckle, but is actually in the same family as Penstemons!

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.

Besides its outstanding blooms, California buckeye is notable for being summer deciduous. To conserve water during the driest part of the year, California buckeye will drop all its leaves and go dormant until the winter rains.

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 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.

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.

The Joshua tree is an iconic member of the southern California flora. If you can't make it out to the desert, our garden is a perfect place to see these majestic plants! There are some particularly interesting examples in the California Habitats section of the garden.

This marvelous large shrub to small tree is a delight all year long! The snowy white dense flower heads bloom in early summer, attracting a variety of insect pollinators. In the fall, plants will begin to show the fruits that these flowers have yielded, fruits that will be red by the winter holiday season. The vibrant red fruit are a favorite of many local bird species. This plant is easy to grow and it holds its vibrant green color all year round even though it needs no supplemental water once established. Watch for the “Davis gold” cultivar of our toyon which has yellow fruits.

These flowering perennials stand up tall and slender with their long narrow leaves that whorl around their stems. They produce clusters of white to light lavender flowers that eventually form smooth pods that burst open casting out fluffy fruit that floats on the wind. They are an important plant for the Monarch butterfly as they are host plants for their larval stage of life. Milkweed provides a source of food for the Monarch caterpillar and shelter when it is time to pupate. By planting this milkweed, you will be sure to see Monarchs and other native butterfly species visit your garden.

Our state flower can, of course, be found throughout the Garden! While showy, the petals close at night or during cloudy days. In areas with cold winters, the plant acts as an annual but acts as a perennial where the winters are mild. Watch out for flashes of bright orange petals and happy pollinators!

An incredible 3-inch-wide yellow flower is an unforgettable sight to see on a tree. During peak bloom these plants can be more yellow than green! These flowers sometimes produce so much nectar that you can see squirrels drinking from them. There are two flannel bush species in the Garden, several cultivars, and even a hybrid of one with another genus.

Beautiful and slender, the elegant clarkia has oval shaped leaves, fuzzy seed pods and buds, reddish stems, and a unique purple, pink, or sometimes red flower with 4 spade shaped petals. It only naturally grows in California and can be found in woodlands, especially under oak trees. This plant’s lovely flower is important for native bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies, such as the White-Lined Sphinx moth that you can see in our Butterfly Pavilion.

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 is 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.

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.

Common but nonetheless precious, deerweed is a shrub with small, narrow leaves and tiny, yellow or golden flowers that grow up the stems. These flowers redden towards the end of summer. Deerweed can be found in dry areas across Southwestern U.S. It has gotten its name since it is one of deer’s favorite foods, but this plant is also important for honey bees and butterflies. It also is important for habitat restoration after a wildfire; deerweed fixes nitrogen, a necessary nutrient for plants, back into the soil after a fire, thus making a way for other plants to grow in the area again.

Elegant with its bright red and yellow flowers, the Western Columbine is a beautiful addition to gardens. It is called by its scientific name Aquilegia formosa, which means “beautiful eagle,” since the flower’s shape resembles eagle talons, and this flower grows in moist, cool areas all across Western North America. Western Columbine is attractive to hummingbirds and has been eaten as a candy, used on bee stings, worn as a perfume, and more by Native American tribes.

Cleveland sage, also known as blue sage, is a fragrant shrub with wrinkly, fuzzy green leaves and rich purple or blue, trumpet-shaped flowers that grow in raised clusters. This drought-tolerant plant grows in well drained, sunny areas in Southern California and Baja California. Cleveland sage’s lovely, strong fragrance and beautiful flowers attract a lot of hummingbirds and bees. It has also been eaten, used for ceremonies, and used to cure poison oak by Native Americans in California.

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?

White sage is a shrub with green, waxy leaves that are covered in tiny white hairs and has clusters of fragrant white flowers on stalks. White sage can grow in a variety of places-dry slopes, foothills, canyons, and more- across Southern and Baja California. This plant continues to be used by Native Americans during ceremonies, and has many antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. White sage attracts many different kinds of butterflies and bees and, due to its medical properties, is also said to make a honey that is really healthy for you!

The Chaparral yucca, also known as Our Lord’s Candle, is a tall shrub with agave-like leaves at its base and cream colored flowers on its single tall stalk. It is extremely drought tolerant and grows on dry, rocky soils in Southern California and Baja California. It attracts butterflies and has a specific moth, the California yucca moth, that pollinates it.This plant is also known as “the Swiss Army Knife of the Chaparral” because of its manifold uses. It was, and is, used by Native Americans as food, fuel, shoe, basket, and house building materials, and much more!

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.

Spectacular penstemon, also known as showy penstemon, is famous for its rich colored, trumpet-shaped flowers, its fast growth rate, and its drought tolerance. They grow in well-drained and sunny areas in the southwestern U.S., particularly here in Southern California, and Baja California. Because of the shape and color of their flowers, they attract many different pollinators, including hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies such as the Variable Checkerspot.

Known for its durability and beautiful fragrant flowers, the Desert Willow is a tall shrub with long,green narrow leaves and pink or purple trumpet-like flowers. It grows in sandy areas and dry grasslands throughout the southwestern U.S. and Mexico. Desert willow is used in landscape design because of its beautiful flowers and nice form.

Also known as “the fried-egg plant”, the Matilija poppy is a beautiful, fragrant flower that only naturally occurs in California (both the U.S. state and the Mexican state, Baja California). It can be found in canyons and dried riverbeds, also known as washes. Their seeds can only germinate after a fire or heat-flash but once they’re planted they can keep growing, even after you try and remove them! This water wise plant is easily identifiable and has the largest flowers of any native California plant species.

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.