Parish's Nightshade (Solanum parishii) is a native shrub in the Solanaceae (Nightshade) family that grows in primarily in two disjunct regions, the mountains and valleys of northern California and the chaparral of southernmost California. It occurs from sea level up to elevations of 6,000 feet. A closely related species is Solanum xanti, and their ranges overlap in the southern counties. There are also several non-native species of Solanum that look very similar. Some are sold under the common name Potato Plant. The flowers of Solanum parishii are small but attractive. As with many other members of this family, the plant is poisonous to humans and some other animals, especially the fruits. Be cautious in using it where children or pets may have access. Due to the poisonous nature of many nightshades, tomatoes (also a member of the Solanaceae) were thought to be equally toxic by many North Americans as late as the early eighteenth century.

Bluewitch Nightshade (Solanum umbelliferum) is a native shrub Solanaceae (Nightshade) family that is widespread in California in various habitats and vegetation communities, at elevations from sea level to 5,200 feet. The stems are densely hairy and branched. The leaves are grey-green, elliptical to oval, and typically smooth edged. The flower is blue to purple in color, consisting of five petals fused together, with contrasting yellow anthers. The fruit is a sphere 12-14 mm in size. Its habit is mounding or sometimes vining, often found climbing up through more woody shrubs. All parts of the plant are toxic to people and some animals. However, it is very attractive to insects. If given occasional summer water it will stay leafed-out and may even continue to flower. If allowed to dry it will be summer deciduous. This is a very tough, hardy plant that will survive on neglect.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden from santa Lucia Mountains.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Solanum wallacei, also known as Wallace's nightshade, Catalina nightshade, Northern island nightshade, or Wild Tomato, is a perennial plant that produces purple flowers, but otherwise resembles a tomato plant. The foliage and purple-black berries are poisonous. This rare plant is native to canyons and hillsides on Santa Catalina and Guadalupe Islands. It blooms in April and May.

Purple Nightshade (Solanum xanti) is a poisonous shrub with deep blue purple flowers blooming from winter through spring. Purple Nightshade has dark green foliage, and the form is loosely spreading or trailing. To promote a bush form, prune leggy branches in late summer or fall.

This plant likes sun to part shade in coastal gardens and shady spots inland. It is very drought tolerant but will tolerate modest summer watering. Though it prefers rocky soil or loam, it will grow in any relatively well drained soil.

It is noted for being deer resistant and hosts numerous moth and butterfly species.
The green berries, though toxic to animals, attract birds.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected by Carol Bornstein from a plant growing in the santa Barabara foothills. Introduced by san Marcos Growers.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selection from san Luis Obispo.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. peninsular Ranges (Otay Mountain).

Solidago confinis, commonly called southern goldenrod, is a North American species of flowering plants in the sunflower family. It is native to California, southern Nevada, and Baja California. Solidago confinis is a perennial herb sometimes as much as 200 cm (80 inches) tall, with a thick, woody underground caudex. One plant can produce up to 320 small yellow flower heads in a showy, branching array at the top of the stem.

Solidago elongata, commonly called West Coast Canada goldenrod or Cascade Canada goldenrod, is a North American species of flowering plants in the sunflower family. It is native to western Canada, western United States, and northwestern Mexico, primarily in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, and Baja California, with a few populations in Nevada and Idaho. It grows in the Coast Ranges, the Sierra Nevada, the Cascades, and other mountain ranges in the region. Solidago elongata is a perennial herb up to 150 cm (5 feet) tall, spreading by means of underground rhizomes. One plant can produce 500 or more small yellow flower heads in a large branching (sometimes drooping) array at the top of the plant.

Solidago lepida , the western Canada goldenrod or western goldenrod, is a North American plant species in the genus Solidago of the sunflower family. It is widespread across much of Canada, the western United States, and northern Mexico. Solidago lepida is a perennial herb up to 150 cm (5 feet) tall, spreading by means of underground rhizomes. Leaves have coarse teeth and are on the stem rather than at the base. One plant can sometimes produce as many as 800 small flower heads, each with 7-22 ray florets surrounding 2-13 disc florets.

Rough Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis var. salebrosa) is a native perennial herb that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow at elevations from 0-9200 feet.

California goldenrod (Solidago velutina ssp. Californica) is a perennial herb that produces masses of yellow flowers when many other plants are dormant, in late summer and fall. It grows fast and produces many flower spikes up to 5 feet tall.  

Birds and pollinating insects love this plant. Throughout California it is found in open, grassy places up to an elevation of 7,500 feet.

This is a very garden tolerant, easy plant. It likes to be wet in winter/spring and dry in summer but can take extra water. Because it spreads from a creeping rootstock California goldenrod may become invasive; give it room.

California Hedgenettle (Stachys bullata) is a perennial evergreen herb in the Mint family. California Hedgenettle is a delicate, attractive flowering plant that performs well in damp, partially shaded areas. It tends to grow in wet, swampy, boggy places, at elevations from sea level to 1,600 feet. The leaves are deep green and tongue-shaped. Two-lipped purple or pink flowers bloom on stalks spring through summer.

Throughout the rest of the year, the plant forms a bushy, spreading groundcover. Like most wetland plants, it spreads to occupy suitably damp land but is easily controlled. California Hedgenettle thrives in partially shaded areas and will tolerate clay soils. While not drought adapted, this plant is a good choice for bioswales, pond margins, and similar areas where a showy, flowering plant may be desired.

California Hedgenettle attracts hummingbirds, butterflies and other insects. Despite its common name, it does not form a hedge nor sting like true nettles.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Central and south western CA.

Sierra Bladdernut (Staphylea bolanderi) is a uncommon native tree or shrub that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow at elevations from 0-4500 feet.

Stellaria nitens is a species of flowering plant in the pink family known by the common names shiny chickweed and shining starwort. It is native to western North America, including British Columbia, Alberta, and the western United States, its distribution extending into Mexico at least as far as Baja California. It grows in many types of habitat, in dry and moist areas, and sometimes in disturbed places. It is an annual herb producing a slender, upright, four-angled stem from a thin taproot, reaching up to about 25 centimeters in height. Most of the leaves are located low on the stem, each measuring up to 1. 5 centimeters long, with smaller, narrower leaves occurring above. The leaves are hairless except for some rough hairs along the margins, and the blades have shiny surfaces. The inflorescence bears a few flowers on short pedicels. The flower has five pointed sepals each a few millimeters long. There are sometimes five tiny white petals as well, though these are often absent.

Stephanomeria cichoriacea is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names chicoryleaf wirelettuce and silver rock-lettuce. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the coastal mountain ranges as far north as Monterey County, but especially in southern California mountains such as the Transverse Ranges. Its habitat includes chaparral. It is a perennial herb producing slender erect stems reaching maximum heights exceeding one meter. The stem is woolly with hairs, especially on new growth. The leaves are mostly located in a basal rosette, the largest reaching 18 to 20 centimeters long. They are lance-shaped and often toothed along the edges, and the newer ones are woolly. Smaller leaves occur farther up the stem. The inflorescence is a long array of several flower heads, with some occurring in the upper leaf axils as well. Each head has a cylindrical base 1 to 2 centimeters long which is lined with layers of glandular phyllaries. The head contains 10 to 15 ray florets, each with an elongated tube and a pink ligule which may be up to 2 centimeters long. The fruit is an achene tipped with a spreading cluster of long, plumelike pappus bristles.

Stephanomeria elata is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names Santa Barbara wirelettuce and Nuttall's wirelettuce. It is native to Oregon and California, where it grows in coastal and inland mountain ranges, including the Sierra Nevada. It can be found in many types of habitat. It is an annual herb producing a slender, erect stem often exceeding one meter in maximum height. It is hairy to hairless and often glandular. The leaves are mostly located in a basal rosette, the largest reaching 10 centimeters long. Smaller, much-reduced leaves occur farther up the stem. The leaves drop early, leaving the plant naked for most of the year. Flowers occur singly or in small clusters along the stiff branches. Each head contains up to 15 or 16 ray florets, each with an elongated tube and a pink ligule 6 or 7 millimeters long. The fruit is an achene tipped with a spreading cluster of long, plumelike pappus bristles.

Stephanomeria exigua, the small wirelettuce, is a perennial or biennial plant native to the western United States. It is thought to be the parent species of Stephanomeria malheurensis (Malheur wirelettuce), an endangered plant species found only in southern Oregon. It generally blooms from mid-spring to late summer and produces small, light pink or light purple blooms.

Stephanomeria virgata, commonly called rod wirelettuce, twiggy wreath plant, and virgate wirelettuce, is a herbaceous annual plant of the sunflower family, Asteraceae. It can be found growing in Western North America, specifically California, but also in Oregon and Nevada and northern Mexico. This plant can be found in dry, open habitat types at elevations below 2100 meters. S. virgata is sometimes used as an ornamental plant. Stephanomeria virgata is an annual plant and grows up to 12 feet tall. The stem may be hairless or woolly. It is long and has dense branches. Leaves on the lower plant are rosetted around the base. They are oblong and lobed. On the upper plant the leaves are small, linear in shape, and smooth edged without lobes. Flower heads occur at intervals on the branches and contain 5 to 9 ray florets. The fruit is an achene with a pappus of white bristles. Early Classification. Stephanomeria virgata formerly included plants that now belong to the species Stephanomeria diegensis.

Stillingia linearifolia is a species of flowering plant in the euphorb family known by the common name queen's-root. It is native to the Southwestern United States, Southern California, and Northwestern Mexico, where it occurs in several types of dry and disturbed habitat in deserts, mountains, foothills, and chaparral. Stillingia linearifolia is a perennial herb producing a clump of slender, branching, erect stems approaching 70 centimeters in height. The alternately arranged leaves are linear and narrow, reaching 4 centimeters in length but less than 2 millimeters in width. The inflorescence is an erect spike of flowers a few centimeters long. The plant is monoecious, and each spike has several male flowers at the tip and a few fruit-bearing female flowers below these. Neither type of flower has petals. The ovary of the female flower develops into a three-lobed greenish capsule 3 to 4 millimeters wide. There is a tiny black seed in each of the three chambers of the fruit.

Nodding Needle Grass is a native grass that grows in many parts of California, primarily in the Coast Ranges from Tehama County southward at elevations from sea level to 5,000 ft. It is fast growing and moderately long-lived. It grows in an upright form to a height of 3 feet, with active growth during the spring. Leaves are medium green and deciduous. There have been some taxonomic changes related to this genus (Needlegrass) over the years, and some sources may refer to it as Nasella. The Stipas generally have been a major component of California's native grasslands. In the garden it is best used in small patches between chaparral or sage scrub species and mixed with various perennial herbs and annuals.

Achnatherum coronatum is a greenish species of grass known by the common name crested needlegrass. It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows on the coastal and inland hills, often in chaparral plant communities. This is a perennial grass forming loose bunches up to about two meters in maximum height, but usually shorter. It is similar to its relative, Achnatherum parishii, and the two intergrade in many characteristics and are easily confused. The grass bears a generous flower cluster up to 60 centimeters long with large spikelets up to 2 centimeters long each, not including an awn of up to 4.5 centimeters. The awn has two distinct kinks.

Achnatherum diegoense is a species of grass known by the common name San Diego needlegrass. It is native to southern California, where it is known from San Diego and Ventura Counties and the Channel Islands, and Baja California. It is a resident of chaparral and coastal sage scrub ecosystems below 350 feet in elevation, especially near streams. This is a bunching perennial grass reaching heights between 110 and 140 centimeters. The flower cluster is up to about 25 centimeters long. The hairy spikelet is about a centimeter long not counting the long awn, which can be up to 5 centimeters long and has two distinct kinks.

Lemmon's Needlegrass (Achnatherum lemmonii) is a native grass that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow at elevations from 0-7500 feet.

Pubescent Lemmon's Needlegrass (Achnatherum lemmonii var. pubescens) is a rare native grass that grows in northern California. It tends to grow at elevations from 3400-4300 feet.

Stipa lepida, known as Foothill Needlegrass or Small Flowered Needlegrass, is a native bunchgrass that grows in northwestern, central western, and southwestern California. In nature it tends to grow on dry slopes below 4,600 feet, in chaparral, grassland, oak savanna, or coastal sage scrub habitats.
This is a 'cool season' bunchgrass, with active growth during the winter through spring, and mid to late summer dormancy (partial to full deciduous) into the autumn.

Foothill Needlegrass is moderate to fast growing and can be long-lived. It grows in an upright mounding form to a height of 3 feet. It blooms in the early spring with golden yellow-tan flowers on stems above the foliage. Long narrow leaves are a medium green. It can tolerate occasional summer water, and may stay greener as a consequence, but will rot and die if it gets too much irrigation. It is drought tolerant with a very deep root system once established It is more tolerant of some shade than the other native needlegrasses (Stipa spp.), and can be used under the canopy of mature oaks and other native trees.

Purple Needlegrasss is California's most widespread native grass. It was named California's State Grass in 2004.

Purple needlegrass gets its name from the color of its young seeds. It is a perennial bunchgrass that can grow up to 3 feet tall. It has a deep root system, which makes it drought adapted and a good plant choice for erosion control.

Purple needlegrass is easy to grow and tolerant of most soil types, including poor and disturbed soils. Plant in full or part sun as part of a low-water meadow garden. This grass produces a large amount of seeds, which attract birds and other wildlife. It has long awns, and pet owners should be aware that they are prickly. It can be cut back when it turns brown at the end of summer.

Achnatherum speciosum is a species of grass known by the common name desert needlegrass. It is native to much of the south-western United States from California to Colorado, where it grows in dry areas, especially sagebrush habitat. It is also known from Mexico and parts of South America. This is a short bunching perennial grass reaching a maximum height of 1-2 feet The leaf blades are less than a millimeter wide and rolled along the edges. The bases are stiff and remain as the dense grass clump dries. The flower cluster is up to about 2 inches long and is dense and fluffy. Each spikelet is very hairy and has a bent awn up to about a centimeter long which is coated in long hairs. The stiff awn and the sharp tip of the spikelet make the seeds hazardous for animals. The hairs on the seed help in catch in animal coats and drift on the wind for dispersal. The awn also twists when wet, helping the seed bury itself in the soil.

Streptanthus brachiatus is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name Socrates Mine jewelflower. It is endemic to the Inner North Coast Ranges of California north of the San Francisco Bay Area. It can be found in chaparral and woodland habitat, often on serpentine soils, in Sonoma, Lake, and Napa Counties. It is a biennial herb producing a branching stem up to about 60 centimeters in maximum height. There is a basal rosette of fleshy purple-green leaves around the base, each with a sharp-toothed, widely lance-shaped blade up to 4 centimeters long. Leaves higher on the stem vary in shape. Flowers occur at intervals along the upper stem. Each has an urn-shaped calyx of keeled yellowish or purplish sepals just under a centimeter long. White, purple, or purple-veined white petals emerge from the tip. The fruit is a thin, narrow silique which may be up to 6 centimeters in length.

Streptanthus breweri is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name Brewer's jewelflower. It is endemic to California, where it can be found in the coastal mountain ranges from the Klamath Mountains south to the San Francisco Bay Area. Its habitat includes chaparral and woodlands, usually on serpentine soils. It is an annual herb producing an erect, branching stem up to about 80 centimeters in maximum height. It is hairless except for fine hairs on some of the inflorescence parts, and it may be waxy in texture. The basal leaves have oval blades borne on petioles, and the lance-shaped leaves farther up the stem clasp it at their bases. Flowers occur at intervals along the upper stem, sometimes in a zig-zagging, one-sided array. Each has an urn-shaped calyx of keeled greenish or purplish sepals under a centimeter long. White, purple, or purple-veined white petals emerge from the tip. The fruit is a narrow, curved silique which may be 9 to 11 centimeters in length. The leaves of the plant sometimes have hardened, orange-pigmented callosities on the blades which are thought to be egg-mimics. Female California White butterflies (Pontia sisymbrii syn. Pieris s. ) lay eggs on Streptanthus leaves, and they choose leaves that have not yet had eggs deposited on them. Each larva can easily eat a whole plant, and the butterfly performs an "egg-load assessment" to determine the potential competition for its larva. Leaves that have grown callosities, which strongly resemble the orange eggs of the butterfly, are less likely visited by egg-laying females, protecting the plant from herbivory.

Streptanthus glandulosus is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name bristly jewelflower. It is native to California and southwestern Oregon, where it grows in many types of habitat, including grassland, chaparral, and woodlands. Genetic and other analyses indicate that it is a species complex with ten subspecies which evolved as populations were isolated from each other. The complex includes subspecies previously considered separate species, such as the rare Tiburon jewelflower (ssp. niger) endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area. Plants in the complex are variable. In general they are annual herbs growing 10 centimeters to over a meter in height. They may be hairless to hairy to bristly. The ephemeral basal leaves have blades borne on winged petioles. Leaves higher on the stem are linear to lance-shaped and clasp the stem at their bases. Flowers occur at intervals along the upper stem. Each flower has an urn-shaped calyx of sepals one half to over one centimeter long which can be most any color from white to yellowish to pink or purple to nearly black. Purple, white, or purple-veined white petals emerge from the tip. The fruit is a straight or curving silique up to 11 centimeters long.

Most Beautiful Jewel Flower (Streptanthus glandulosus ssp. glandulosus) is a rare native annual herb that grows in Southern and Central California, primarily in the SF Bay, the South Coast Range and South Coast regions.

Hoffmann's Jewelflower (Streptanthus glandulosus var. hoffmanii) is a rare native annual herb that grows in central California.

Streptanthus insignis is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common names plumed jewelflower and San Benito jewelflower. It is endemic to California, where it is known only from the Inner Central Coast Ranges. It grows in grassland and chaparral habitat, usually on serpentine soils. It is an annual herb producing a hairy, bristly, branching stem up to about 60 centimeters long. The lance-shaped basal leaves are borne on short petioles. Leaves midway up the stem are longer, and those near the top are shorter. They sometimes clasp the stem at their bases. Flowers occur at intervals along the upper stem. The uppermost flowers are often sterile and different in form. Each fertile flower has a bell-shaped calyx of sepals which is purple or greenish-yellow depending on subspecies. The petals at the tip are purplish or yellowish, also depending on subspecies. The fruit is a flat, straight silique which may be over 11 centimeters long. There are two subspecies. The rarer, Arburua Ranch jewelflower (ssp. lyonii), is known from a just few occurrences near Los Banos. This taxon has greenish yellow flowers, sometimes tinged with purple.

Streptanthus morrisonii is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name Morrison's jewelflower. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the North and Central Coast Ranges. It is limited to serpentine soils in chaparral and forest habitat. It is considered a species complex which includes Streptanthus brachiatus. S. morrisonii is divided into four subspecies and is variable. In general, it is a biennial herb producing a hairless, waxy stem up to 1. 2 to 1. 5 meters in maximum height, often branching at the tip. The basal leaves have fleshy, lance-shaped blades 3 to 5 centimeters long borne on petioles. The blades are gray-green on the upper surface and purple or purple-mottled underneath. Leaves higher on the stem are variable in shape and become smaller toward the top of the plant. Flowers occur at intervals along the upper stem. Each has an urn-shaped calyx of keeled sepals in shades of yellow-green to purple. The petals emerging from the tip are whitish with purple-brown veining. The fruit is a flattened straight or slightly curved silique up to 8 centimeters long. Threats to this species include boron toxicity from the steam of nearby geothermal power plants.

Stylocline gnaphaloides (often misspelled S. gnaphalioides) is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names mountain neststraw and everlasting neststraw. The plant is native to southern California and Arizona in the southwestern United States; and to Baja California and Sonora in northwestern Mexico. It can be found in many types of habitat, becoming common in some areas. Stylocline gnaphaloides is a small annual herb growing at ground level and reaching just a few centimeters in length. It is usually coated in white hairs, often woolly. The small, blunt leaves are alternately arranged, each up to 1. 4 centimeters long. The inflorescence bears spherical flower heads each a few millimeters in diameter. The head has 2 to 4 white-haired phyllaries and tiny woolly white flowers.

Storax (Styrax redivivus) is a uncommon native shrub that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in grassy and open places, at elevations from 0-5000 feet.

The cheerful California Aster (Symphyotrichum chilense) is a member of the Sunflower family that's native to coastal California. This perennial blooms from summer to fall, making it a good garden companion for other plants that have a spring blooming season. Its petite flowers bloom in subtle shades of blue and lavender. Butterflies and moths are attracted to the nectar. California Aster is a host plant for several species of both insects. Birds eat the seeds after blooming.

California Aster likes loamy clay soil and full or partial sun exposure. It does well in moist soil,but is also drought-adapted and can tolerate receiving little to no supplemental summer water. Cut this plant back to the ground in late fall or early winter. Deadheading produces more flowers, but in wildlife gardens it is often left to go to seed. New growth appears in late winter. It spreads easily by rhizomes; the low-growing 'Point Saint George' cultivar is often used as a groundcover plant.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Tauschia arguta is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name southern umbrellawort. It is native to the mountains of southern California and Baja California, where it grows in local habitat types such as woodlands and chaparral. Tauschia arguta is a perennial herb growing 30 to 70 centimeters tall. The leaves have blades which are divided into several toothed leaflets and borne on long petioles. The inflorescence is a compound umbel of yellow flowers with up to 25 rays measuring 2 to 12 centimeters long each. The fruit is almost a centimeter long and has deep longitudinal ribs. Tauschia arguta is a perennial herb growing 30 to 70 centimeters tall. The leaves have blades which are divided into several toothed leaflets and borne on long petioles. The inflorescence is a compound umbel of yellow flowers with up to 25 rays measuring 2 to 12 centimeters long each. The fruit is almost a centimeter long and has deep longitudinal ribs.

Tauschia hartwegii is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name Hartweg's umbrellawort. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the Sierra Nevada foothills and some of the Central Coast Ranges. Its habitat includes coniferous woodlands and chaparral. It is a perennial herb growing 30 centimeters to one meter tall. It is coated in short, rough hairs. The leaves have blades which are divided into oval leaflets with serrated edges and borne on long petioles. The inflorescence is a compound umbel of yellow flowers with up to 30 unequal rays measuring 2 to 12 centimeters long each. The fruit is somewhat rounded in shape, ribbed, and under a centimeter long.

Tauschia parishii is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name Parish's umbrellawort. It is endemic to California. The plant occurs in several mountain ranges, including the Sierra Nevada, White and Inyo Mountains, the Tehachapi Mountains, the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains, the western Transverse Ranges, and the San Jacinto Mountains and other northern Peninsular Ranges. Its habitats include: chaparral, Yellow pine forest, Red fir forest, and Pinyon-juniper woodland. Descrioption. Tauschia parishii is a low-lying perennial herb growing 10 to 40 centimeters tall. The leaves have blades which are divided into elongated leaflets, which are subdivided into toothed or lobed segments. The inflorescence is a compound umbel of yellow flowers with 12 to 18 rays each a few centimters long. The fruit is oblong with prominent ribs and measures between one half and one centimeter long.

Tetradymia comosa is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, known by the common name hairy horsebrush. The plant is native to the Transverse Ranges and Peninsular Ranges in Southern California and northern Baja California. It grows in local chaparral and woodlands habitats, such as coastal sage scrub and montane chaparral and woodlands. Tetradymia comosa is a whitish woolly shrub growing 30 centimetres (12 in) to over 1 metre (3. 3 ft) tall. The leaves are lance-shaped and up to 6 centimeters long, becoming rigid as they age, sometimes with their tips hardening to spines. The inflorescence bears three to six flower heads which are each enveloped in five or six thick phyllaries coated in white woolly hairs. Each head contains five to nine yellow or brownish flowers each around a centimeter long. The fruit is a small, hairy achene.

Thysanocarpus curvipes is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common names sand fringepod and lacepod. It is native to western North America from British Columbia through the western United States to Baja California, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a common plant in much of its range. It is variable in appearance. It is an annual herb producing a branching or unbranched stem 10 to 80 centimeters tall. The leaves are mostly lance-shaped but variable. The lower ones are sometimes borne on petioles and the upper ones may clasp the stem at their bases. They may be smooth-edged, toothed, or lobed. The inflorescence is a raceme of flowers with four white or purple-tinged petals and purple sepals. The fruit is a flattened, rounded or oval disclike capsule with a thin wing around the edge. The fruit is under a centimeter long and the wing is variable in appearance, flat or wavy, sometimes perforated.

Thysanocarpus laciniatus is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name mountain fringepod. It is native to California and Baja California, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a common plant in much of its range. It is an annual herb producing a slender, branching or unbranched stem 10 to 60 centimeters tall. It is somewhat waxy in texture and generally lacks hairs. The leaves are linear to lance-shaped and smooth-edged or toothed. They measure up to 4 centimeters in length. The inflorescence is a raceme of small whitish or purplish flowers. The fruit is a flattened, rounded or oval disclike capsule with a thin wing around the edge.

Tonella tenella is one of two herbaceous plant species in genus Tonella, which has been recently reclassified as a member of Plantaginaceae. This species is known by the common names lesser baby innocence and small-flowered tonella. The plant is a small annual herb with an erect stem up to 30 centimeters tall. The flowers are very tiny, only a few millimeters wide. The corolla is arranged with four petal lobes on one side and one larger petal lobe on the other. The lobed petals are white with blue or purple spots or streaks, and they surround four white stamens. Growing in the forest understory, often scrub oak, on moist rocky soil, its range extends from southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia to San Benito County, California. Media related to Tonella tenella at Wikimedia Commons

Torreyochloa pallida is a species of grass known by the common names pale false mannagrass and weak manna grass. It is native to North America, especially the east and west sides. It grows in wet habitat, such as rivers, lakesides, bogs, and swamps. It is a rhizomatous perennial grass producing thick, erect to decumbent, sometimes matted stems which can easily exceed one meter in maximum length. The inflorescence is a branching panicle up to 25 centimeters long by 12 wide containing compressed spikelets with up to 8 florets each. There are three varieties of this grass which are distinguished by appearance and distribution.

Toxicodendron diversilobum, commonly named poison oak, Pacific poison oak or western poison oak, is a woody vine or shrub widely distributed in western North America. It is common in various habitats, from riparian zones to dry chaparral. It thrives in shady and dappled light through full and direct sunlight conditions. It is one of the more common shrubs in California, growing throughout the coastal and coast mountain ranges, the Transverse mountain ranges, through the Sierra foothills, and in the Sacramento Valley. It is extremely variable in growth habit and leaf appearance, growing as a dense tall shrub in open sunlight, and a treelike vine or dense thickets in shaded areas. It reproduces by spreading rhizomes and by seeds. The plant is winter deciduous, so that after cold weather sets in, the stems are leafless and bear only the occasional cluster of berries.

Poison oak is known for causing itching and allergic rashes in many humans after contact by touch or smoke inhalation. Because of this, it is usually eradicated from gardens and public landscaped areas. However, it can be a carefully situated component in wildlife gardens, habitat gardens, and natural landscaping. The plant is used in habitat restoration projects. It can be early stage succession where woodlands have been burned or removed, serving as a nurse plant for other species.

Botanist John Howell observed the toxicity of Poison Oak obscures its merits: "In spring, the ivory flowers bloom on the sunny hill or in sheltered glade, in summer its fine green leaves contrast refreshingly with dried and tawny grassland, in autumn its colors flame more brilliantly than in any other native, but one great fault, its poisonous juice, nullifies its every other virtue and renders this beautiful shrub the most disparaged of all within our region."

Black-tailed deer, mule deer, California ground squirrels, western gray squirrels, and other indigenous fauna feed on the leaves of the plant. It is rich in phosphorus, calcium, and sulfur. Bird species use the berries for food, and utilize the plant structure for shelter. Neither native animals, nor horses, livestock, or canine pets demonstrate reactions.

Toxicoscordion fremontii, known as the common star lily or Frémont's deathcamas (after John C. Frémont) or star zigadene, is an attractive wildflower found on grassy or woody slopes, or rocky outcrops, in many lower-lying regions of California, southwestern Oregon, and northern Baja California. Like other deathcamases, T. fremontii grows from a more or less spherical bulb, which in this species has a diameter of 20-35 mm. Its leaves can reach up to half a meter in length, but are typically half that length. They grow from the base of the plant. Flowers, which can be seen from March to June, grow in clusters. They have six petals (strictly, three petals and three very similar sepals), arranged symmetrically, giving rise to the name star-lily. Each flower is 1-4 cm across.

Toxicoscordion micranthum the smallflower deathcamas, is a flowering plant in the genus Toxicoscordion. It is native to Oregon and California, primarily in the Coast Ranges from Douglas County to Napa and Sonoma Counties, with isolated populations in Lassen, Plumas, Santa Clara, and San Benito Counties. It is a member of the serpentine soils flora. Toxicoscordion micranthum is a bulb-forming herb up to 70 cm tall and bearing as many as 60 flowers. Flowers are white or cream-colored, sometimes with green markings, 5-12 mm in diameter hence smaller than most of the other species in the genus.

Toxicoscordion venenosum, with the common names death camas and meadow death camas, is a species of flowering plants in the genus Toxicoscordion, of the Melanthiaceae family. It is native to western North America. The plant is called alapíšaš in Sahaptin, and nupqasaqui, ("nup-ka-sa-qush") in Ktunaxa). The plant is widespread across much of Western Canada, the Western United States, and northern Baja California (México). They tend to grow in dry meadows and on dry hillsides as well as sagebrush slopes and montane forests. Toxicity. All parts of the plant are poisonous. It is dangerous for humans as well as livestock. Consumption of 2 to 6% of the body weight of the animal is likely to be fatal. Along with other alkaloids, zygacine and other toxic esters of zygadenine are the primary neurotoxic alkaloids contributing to the plant's toxicity.