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List of California native plants

Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience

Majestic redwood trees lining the Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

California native plants are special plants that have lived in California for a very long time, even before people from Europe arrived in the late 1700s. These plants are important because they have adapted to the unique weather and soil of California over many years.

California is part of a very important area for plants called the California floristic province. This area stretches across most of California and even reaches into nearby places like Oregon, Nevada, and Baja California. It is considered one of the world's richest places for plant life, with many different kinds of plants growing there.

These native plants help keep the land healthy. They provide food and homes for many animals and help the soil stay strong. Learning about them helps us understand and protect California's beautiful natural world.

Native wildflower blazing star (Mentzelia lindleyi)

For more information, see the List of flora of the Mojave Desert and Flora of the Sierra Nevada alpine zone.

Introduction

In 1993, a book called The Jepson Manual guessed that California had about 4,693 plants that grew naturally there, along with 1,169 special types of these plants. A study in 2001 by the California Native Plant Society thought there were around 6,300 native plants. These numbers can change as scientists learn more.

Many plants grow only in California. The state’s wide range of land shapes, weather, and soil types helps many different plants to thrive. Some California plants are popular in gardens far away from California, like lupines, California fuchsias, and California poppies, which were first grown in gardens in Britain and Europe many years ago.

Selected trees

Coniferous trees

Sequoias and redwoods

Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)

Pine trees

Pinus ponderosa, Kings Canyon National Park

Western Cypress

Other conifers

Monterey cypress, Carmel

Oak trees

California has many types of oaks, often found in oak woodlands:

Valley oak near Mount Diablo.

Riparian trees

In moist areas near streams (riparian areas), some trees include:

Other trees and tree-like shrubs

Selected shrubs

Fremontodendron californicum (California flannelbush)

Selected desert plants

A Joshua tree in Joshua Tree National Park
Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata)

See also: Category:Flora of the California desert regions

Selected perennials

Sunny habitats

Eriogonum fasciculatum (California buckwheat)

Shady habitats

Ferns

Selected bulbs

Brodiaea coronaria (California hyacinth)
  • Ithuriel's spear (Triteleia spp.)
  • Meadow onion (Allium monticola)
  • Goldenstar (Bloomeria crocea)
  • Brodiaea (Brodiaea spp.)
  • Blue dicks (Dipterostemon capitatus): one of the most common native bulb species throughout California; found in grassland and dry meadow habitats
  • Mariposa lily (Calochortus spp.): available from reputable plant sellers; taking them from the wild is against the law and has caused some types to become rarer because of too much collecting.

Selected annuals and wildflowers

Here are some beautiful wildflowers and plants that grow naturally in California:

Selected vines

Aristolochia californica (Dutchman's pipe)

Selected grasses

Grasses:

Festuca californica, El Cajon

Grasslike:

Selected succulents

Dudleyas

Coast dudleya (Dudleya caespitosa)

Sedums

Environmental challenges

Some plants that naturally grow in California are disappearing because of cities growing bigger, farms taking up space, animals eating too much grass, people playing and harming nature, pollution, and new plants from other places taking over.

California has about 1,023 plants that are not from there. Some of these new plants cause problems, like yellow star-thistle. These plants came to California during times like when Spain took over the land, during the California Gold Rush, and when many people and goods came into the state over many years.

Images

Beautiful Sierra alpine gentians blooming by a serene lake in Yosemite National Park.
Beautiful aspens trees turning golden along Lee Vining Creek during autumn in the Sierra Nevada.

Related articles

California
Baja California
Channel Islands (California)
Sequoia sempervirens

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on List of California native plants, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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