Chaenactis xantiana (Mojave pincushion or Xantu's pincushion), is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the western United States, from southeastern Oregon, Nevada, eastern California and western Arizona. It is very common in the Antelope Valley in the Mojave Desert, and grows in sandy soils. It is an annual plant growing to 50 centimeter tall. The leaves are somewhat succulent, 3-7 centimeter long and 3-4 millimeter broad, in a basal rosette on the young plants which wither away during flowering, and spirally arranged leaves on the flowering stem; they are green, finely flecked with white scales giving an overall grayish color to the plant. The flowers are produced in a capitulum 3-6 centimeter diameter, and are white in color.

Chaetopappa ericoides is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names rose heath and heath-leaved chaetopappa. It is native to the southwestern and much of the midwestern United States and northern Mexico. This is a petite perennial herb reaching heights between 5 and 15 centimeters. The hairy, hairy stem grows from a woody caudex and branches several times. The green leaves are up to about a centimeter long and are hairy and bristly. The tiny flower head is 1 or 2 centimeters wide with white or pinkish ray florets around a center of yellow disc florets. Each head has a base of pointed purple-tipped greenish phyllaries. The fruit is a hairy, round achene with a bristly white pappus.

Chamaebatiaria is a monotypic genus of aromatic shrub in the rose family containing the single species Chamaebatiaria millefolium, which is known by the common names fern bush and desert sweet. Its genus name comes from its physical resemblance to the mountain miseries of genus Chamaebatia, which are not closely related. This is a hairy, sticky plant covered in fernlike foliage made up of fronds of small leaflets. At the ends of the erect branches of this spreading bush are flower clusters of white roselike flowers. This shrub is a resident of scrub, woodland, and forests in western North America. The closest relative of Spiraeanthus.

Chenopodium fremontii is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common name Frémont's goosefoot. Both the species' specific epithet, and the common name derive from the 19th century western pioneer John C. Frémont. It is native to much of the western half of North America from Canada through California to Mexico. It grows in many types of habitat from open desert, to shady forest, at 700-3,100 metres (2,300-10,200 ft). Chenopodium fremontii is an annual herb growing an erect stem up to 50 to 80 centimeters in maximum height. It is powdery in texture, especially on the leaves and flowers. The leaves are up to 4 centimeters long, oval to triangular, and generally with a few lobes. The inflorescence is a spike of several clusters of tightly-packed tiny flowers. Each flower has five lobes and coats the developing fruit. It flowers from June to October. Uses. Many Native American tribes utilize this plant for food, the greens as a vegetable and the seeds as grain for bread and porridge.

The desert willow is a small, multi-trunk tree that's notable for its fragrant, trumpet-shaped flowers that bloom in shades of pink, lavender, and white. The flowers attract pollinators, including hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. Narrow leaves give this plant its name, but it is a member of the bignonia family, not a willow. It produces long seed pods and is winter deciduous.

The desert willow is native to southern California's desert regions and is a good choice for inland gardens. Plant in full sun and sandy soil. The desert willow needs minimal supplemental water but can enjoy some summer irrigation. Prune when the branches are bare in winter.

Horticultural selection from Chilopsis linearis. This Desert Willow has gorgeous pink to deep red flowers that bloom in the summer. It is tolerant of most soils but does well in sandy soils. It is found naturally in desert like areas so it doesn't need a lot of water. The flowers are fragrant and it makes a great addition to a hummingbird garden especially because of the beauty of the flowers.

Horticultural selection from Chilopsis linearis.

Horticultural selection from Chilopsis linearis. Desert willows have long narrow leaves and produce an abundance of fragrant flowers from late spring and continue to early fall. The flowers from the tree are favorites with hummingbirds and other pollinators. This deciduous tree is easy and fast-growing. It is naturally a multi-trunk tree but can be pruned to a single trunk. Use it for summer shade in a dry garden where its dramatic blooms will draw plenty of attention. 'Maggie's Pink' Desert Willow has vibrant pink flowers that are a deeper shade of pink than the species and lighter than the variety known as 'Burgundy'. This tree is named in honor of Maggie Olsen, long-time assistant to Greg Rubin of California's Own Native Landscape Design. She is known for her dependability and cheerful demeanor, just like this attractive small tree! ' Maggie's Pink' is tolerant of most soils but does well in sandy soils. It is found naturally in desert areas near watercourses and takes moderate water. Height ranges from 15' to 25' with a width of about 1' to 15'. Horticultural selection Greg Rubin. Introduced by Moosa Creek Nursery 216 .

Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis ssp. arcuata) is a common native shrub that grows in southern and central California. It tends to grow in sandy washes, at elevations from 0-4900 feet.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Chorizanthe brevicornu is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family which is known by the common name brittle spineflower. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it is widely distributed but is most abundant in the deserts. The plant extends an erect, naked, highly branching stem which is greenish in color. Most of the leaves grow from the base of the plant, but a few small ones may appear up on the stem. At the end of each of the many branches is a tube-shaped inflorescence which opens into a tiny white or greenish-yellow flower a few millimeters wide.

Chorizanthe corrugata is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name wrinkled spineflower. It is native to the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. Chorizanthe corrugata is an erect, branching herb growing to a maximum height near half a meter. Most of the rounded or oval leaves are located about the base of the plant, each up to 2 centimeters long. Chorizanthe corrugata is an erect, branching herb growing to a maximum height near half a meter. Most of the rounded or oval leaves are located about the base of the plant, each up to 2 centimeters long. The inflorescence is made up of a cluster of flowers, each opening from a cylindrical, tubular involucre in shades of green or tan. The plant can be identified by the transversely corrugated surface of this involucral tube. Along the top edge of the tube are three narrow bracts tipped in hooked awns. The flower itself is only about 2 millimeters long, hairy, and white in color.

Chorizanthe rigida, with the common names of devil's spineflower, rigid spineflower, spiny-herb, rigid spiny-herb, is an annual plant in the Polygonaceae family the buckwheats. It is a member of the genus Chorizanthe, the spineflowers and is found in the southwestern United States and northwest Mexico, in the states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Baja California, and Sonora. Chorizanthe rigida is a common desert plant found in the Sonoran and Mojave Desert - in bajadas (washes), flat mesas that flood with annual rains, and rocky hillsides and ridgelines. A locale range example is its presence in most habitats of the Muggins Mountains Wilderness in southeastern Arizona. In desert flats, the short 3 inch plant can be easily obscured, by downstream-washed debris that easily collects on the spineflower skeleton. Thus small hillocks of debris are found, a spineflower in the core; possibly this is the advantageous form of germinating at least the source location into a second generation. In flat mesas the plant can be hidden under clumps and not seen. On a roadside, its skeleton will be left as a single erect plant, the taller plants being found in the highest water-pooled areas.

Chorizanthe watsonii is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name fivetooth spineflower. It is native to the western United States from Washington to the Mojave Desert. It grows in many types of plant communities from desert scrub to woodland and sagebrush. This small plant grows a woolly erect stem up to about 15 centimeters tall. The inflorescence is a cluster of flowers surrounded by five hairy greenish bracts tipped with hooked awns. The flower is about 2 millimeters wide and yellow in color.

Chorizanthe xanti is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name Riverside spineflower. It is endemic to California, where it grows in several of the mountain ranges from the Sierra Nevada to the Southern California Transverse Ranges in forest, woodland, and scrub habitats. Chorizanthe xanti is generally erect in form, reaching up to about 30 centimeters in height, and reddish in color and coated in thin to dense hairs. The inflorescence is a loose cluster of flowers, each flower surrounded by six reddish, curly-haired bracts tipped with hooked awns. The flower is up to 6 millimeters wide and pink to red in color. There are two varieties of this species. Chorizanthe xanti is generally erect in form, reaching up to about 30 centimeters in height, and reddish in color and coated in thin to dense hairs. The inflorescence is a loose cluster of flowers, each flower surrounded by six reddish, curly-haired bracts tipped with hooked awns. The flower is up to 6 millimeters wide and pink to red in color. There are two varieties of this species. The rarer, var. leucotheca, is known only from the San Jacinto and San Bernardino Mountains. It has a much more thickly woolly inflorescence than the more common variety.

Long Flowered Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus depressus) is a native shrub that grows in Southern California, primarily in the Desert Mountains and Mojave Desert regions. It tends to grow in rocky crevices, at elevations from 3300-6900 feet.

Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus is a species of shrub in the daisy family known by the common names yellow rabbitbrush and green rabbitbrush. It is native to western North America, from British Columbia to California to Nebraska, where it grows in sagebrush and woodland habitat. It grows easily in alkaline and saline soils, and thrives on soils that are rich in calcium. It rapidly establishes in disturbed habitat, including burns, flooded washes, and rockslides, so it is a valuable shrub for revegetating damaged land such as overgrazed rangeland and abandoned mining areas. This shrub grows up to about 1.5 meters in height with spreading brittle pale-colored stem branches. The leaves are up to a few centimeters long and may be thin and thready or up to a centimeter wide and oblong in shape. They are hairy, resinous, and sticky. The flower cluster is a bushy cluster of flower heads, each head one half to one centimeter long. The flower head is lined with sticky yellow-green phyllaries and contains several yellowish protruding flowers. The fruit is a hairy achene a few millimeters long with a wispy pappus at the tip.

Chylismia brevipes is a species of wildflower in the Onagraceae (Evening Primrose) family that is native to the American desert southwest. It is known by the common names Yellow Cups, Mojave Suncup, and Golden Suncup. This is a hairy annual with tall stems often reaching over half a meter in height and surrounded by basal leaves which may be simple or composed of several leaflets. It produces an flower cluster which has one to several blooms in it. The flowers are bright yellow, often with reddish speckling at the base of each petal. The center of the flower has a long pistil and several shorter stamens with large anthers. The fruits are hanging capsules which may be several centimeters long.

Chylismia heterochroma is a species of evening primrose known by the common name Shockley's evening primrose. It is native to the desert slopes and woodland of eastern California and Nevada. It is a hairy, glandular annual herb growing a spindly stem up to a meter tall. There is a thick basal rosette of leaves which are mostly oval in shape and several centimeters in length, and generally no leaves higher up the stem. The inflorescence produces several small flowers with four oval petals just a few millimeters long and lavender in color with yellow-tinted bases. The fruit is a club-shaped capsule roughly a centimeter long.

Cirsium mohavense is a species of thistle known by the common name Mojave thistle. It is native to the southwestern United States, where it grows in moist areas in otherwise dry habitat, such as desert springs. It is most common in the Mojave Desert, found also in the southern Great Basin and other nearby regions of California, Nevada, western Arizona, and southwestern Utah. Cirsium mohavense is a biennial or perennial growing up to 2. 5 meters (100 inches or 8 feet 4 inches) tall. The densely woolly stem branches and spreads near the top. The leaves are toothed to deeply lobed, woolly, spiny, and up to 60 centimeters (24 inches) long near the base of the plant. The inflorescence is a spreading array of clusters of flower heads, each generally less than 3 centimeters long and wide. The flower head is coated in spiny phyllaries and filled with white, lavender, or pink flowers. The fruit is an achene a few millimeters long with a pappus on top about 1. 5 centimeters long.

Cirsium neomexicanum is a North American species of thistle known by the common names New Mexico thistle, powderpuff thistle, lavender thistle, foss thistle and desert thistle. This plant is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, particularly the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts. It has been found in California, Nevada, Arizona, Sonora, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. Cirsium neomexicanum is a tall plant, routinely exceeding 2 metres (6. 6 ft) in height. It erects a stem which may have webby fibers and long, stiff spines. The sparse leaves are greenish-gray, hairy, and very spiny. Atop the mainly naked stems are inflorescences of one or more large flower heads with rounded bases and phyllaries covered in long, curving spines. The largest heads may be up to 5 centimeters (2 inches)in diameter. They are packed with white or lavender disc florets but no ray florets. The fruit is a flat brown achene with a long pappus which may reach 2 centimeters long. Unlike many other thistles, this species tends not to be a troublesome noxious weed.

Cirsium scariosum is a species of thistle known by the common names meadow thistle, elk thistle and dwarf thistle. It is native to much of western North America from Alberta and British Columbia south to Baja California. There are also isolated populations on the Canadian Atlantic Coast, on the Mingan Archipelago in Québec. Cirsium scariosum is a variable species grows in a variety of habitat types. It is made up of several geographic races, most of which have been previously classified as species. The races intergrade but their morphologies can also be quite different. This is generally a biennial or perennial herb. It takes three main forms, a stemless, flat rosette with a cluster of flower heads in the center, a mounding form with a short, erect stem, or a fully erect form reaching up to 200 cm (79 in) in height. When there is a stem it is usually fleshy, ridged, and woolly in texture. The leaves are sharply toothed or cut into toothed lobes, lined with spines, and up to 40 centimetres (16 inches) at their longest near the base of the plant. The inflorescence holds several flower heads, each up to 4 centimeters long and 5 cm wide. The flower head is lined with phyllaries which may have spines and teeth and filled with white to purple disc florets but no ray florets. The fruit is a compressed achene a few millimeters long topped with a pappus which may be 3 centimeters in length.

Cistanthe ambigua (formerly Calandrinia ambigua) is a species of flowering plant in the purslane family known by the common name desert pussypaws. It is native to the deserts of northern Mexico and Arizona and California in the United States, where it grows in sandy soils. This is an annual herb producing an upright stem to a maximum height of about 18 centimeters. The thick leaves are linear to spoon-shaped and grow along the stem rather than in a basal rosette at the base of the plant. The inflorescence is a tight cluster of white flowers with 3 to 5 petals each a few millimeters long. The fruit is a capsule containing up to 15 minute shiny black seeds.

Clarkia lassenensis is a species of wildflower known by the common name Lassen clarkia. This plant is native to the US states of California, Oregon, and Nevada, where it grows in the mountains and forested plateau. The plant erects a spindly stem and bears sparse narrow leaves. The bowl-shaped flower has four lavender petals with reddish bases, each about one centimeter long. The flower is a resident of Mount Lassen, from which it gets its name.

Rooreh (Claytonia perfoliata) is a trailing annual herb in the Montia family, native to a large portion of western North America, including almost every county in California. The plant has small white flowers with five petals that bloom from February to May or June. The leaves are round, succulent, and edible, commonly known as miner's lettuce, along with its subspecies Claytonia perfoliata ssp. perfoliata.

Rooreh thrives in vernally moist areas and grows at elevations from 0-6600 feet. It is indicative of a healthy oak woodland and often signals a balanced ecosystem. This plant is more drought-adapted in coastal and cool-weather areas. Sow its tiny black seeds on bare soil in protected areas that receive plenty of water, typically during late fall to early winter. A handy method for sowing is to mix the seeds with fine sand in a salt shaker and sprinkle it onto the surface. Gently scratch it in and tamp to ensure good seed-to-soil contact.

The presence of rooreh supports butterflies and moths, enhancing the diversity of pollinators in the garden.

Bladderpod (Cleomella arborea) is a very fast-growing densely-branching shrub with abundant bright-yellow flower clusters at the ends of its stem branches. It can grow to 1 ½ - to 6 ½ -feet tall and 6 feet wide. The fruit is a large, papery, lantern-like capsule that is smooth and green when new, aging to light brown. This is the “bladderpod” for which the plant is named. A typical flower cluster bears a number of unopened flower buds at its tip, open flowers, and  maturing fruits. The leaves are light green.  The flowers stay on the plant most of the year and are highly fragrant, though opinion is divided on whether the scent is pleasant or unpleasant.

Bladderpod is one of the easiest California natives to grow. This tough plant does well even on south-facing slopes, alkaline soils, and salty conditions. It tolerates weekly summer water but can also get by with only natural rainfall. It is easy to grow from seeds and readily self seeds; once you have a few mature plants in your garden, expect new seedlings to pop up each winter.

It is deer resistant and attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. It particularly attracts harlequin beetles which eat the leaves. If they become a problem, they can be removed by hand or sprayed off with a garden hose. It is usually not possible to eliminate them entirely.

Cleomella obtusifolia is a species of flowering plant in the cleome family known by the common name Mojave stinkweed. It is native to the Mojave Desert and adjacent hills, where it grows in alkaline soils in the desert scrub. It is an annual herb producing a rough, hairy stem up to 90 centimeters long. The branching stem grows erect when new and then the branches droop to the ground with age, forming a bushy clump or mat. Each leaf is made up of three fleshy oval leaflets. Flowers appear in dense racemes on older stems and solitary in leaf axils on new stems. Each flower has generally four hairy green sepals and four yellow petals grouped together on one side of the involucre. The whiskery yellow stamens protrude up to 1. 5 centimeters from the flower. The fruit is a hairy, valved capsule a few millimeters in length. It hangs at the tip of the remaining flower receptacle.

Cleomella parviflora is a species of flowering plant in the cleome family known by the common name slender stinkweed. It is native to eastern California and western Nevada, where it grows in desert and sagebrush scrub in the Mojave Desert and southern parts of the Great Basin. It is an annual herb producing a smooth, hairless, reddish stem up to about 45 centimeters tall. There are a few leaves, each made up of three elongated, fleshy leaflets. Most of the flowers are located in a raceme at the tips of the stem branches, and there may be a few solitary flowers in the axils of the leaves. Each flower has four tiny pale yellow petals, each about 2 millimeters long. The fruit is a lobed, valved capsule which hangs on the tip of the remaining flower receptacle.

Cleomella plocasperma is a species of flowering plant in the cleome family known by the common name twisted cleomella and alkali stinkweed. It is native to the Great Basin and Mojave Desert in the western United States, where it grows mainly in wet, alkaline soils such as those around hot springs. There is a disjunct population in the Bruneau Valley of southwestern Idaho. It grows with other halophytic species such as saltgrass and greasewood. This is an annual herb producing a smooth, hairless stem which divides into several erect or upright branches which may exceed half a meter tall. The sparse leaves are each split into three narrow leaflets. The flowers occur in a raceme at the top of each stem branch. Each flower has four yellow petals and several long stamens which may be over a centimeter long. The fruit is a capsule with large lobes. It hangs at the tip of the remaining flower receptacle.

Cneoridium is a monotypic genus in the Rutaceae (citrus family) which contains the single species Cneoridium dumosum, known by the common name Bushrue. This is an aromatic is shrub native to the coastal bluffs of southern California and Baja California. This highly-branched shrub may exceed a meter in height and sprawl about as wide. Its twigs are covered in small linear green leaves and flowers in clusters of one to three. Each flower is just over a centimeter wide with four or five rounded white petals and eight yellow-anthered white stamens. The bunching fruits are round reddish-green berries about half a centimeter wide covered in a thin peel which is gland-pitted like that of a common citrus fruit. Each berry contains one or two spherical seeds. May cause dermatitis in some people so use with caution. In the summer, the leaves of the plant turn an attractive golden color.

This is a tough and easy to grow plant. Amazingly drought tolerant but still tolerates occasional summer water better than most plants. It prefers full sun, and tolerates a wide variety of soil types. In the summer, its leaves turn an attractive golden color, and will green back up after the rainy season begins.

Coleogyne is a monotypic genus in the rose family containing the single species Coleogyne ramosissima, which is known by the common name blackbrush. This thorny, aromatic shrub is native to the deserts of the southwestern United States. It is a thickly branched thicket which may spread across the ground in clumps or grow erect to approach two meters in height. It is drought-deciduous, such that its branches are covered in clumps of fuzzy thick leaves until the hottest, driest parts of the desert year when it drops some of its foliage and becomes dormant for the season. This plant forms vast monotypic stands across the desert floor and on scrubby slopes. Flowering is triggered by a heavy spring rain in this desert-adapted species. The leathery flowers grow at the ends of small stems. They are encased in thick, fuzzy sepals which are yellow inside and reddish or orange on the outer surface. There are no petals, but the sepals remain after the flower opens, surrounding the patch of whiskery stamens and the central pistil. The fruit is an achene a few millimeters long. The plant reproduces from seed, but very rarely. The seeds do not disperse well and seedlings do not survive in large numbers. A narrow range of temperature and moisture is required for the reproduction of this species, so it is sporadic, but the plants are hardy and long-lived.

Collinsia bartsiifolia is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name white blue-eyed Mary. It is endemic to California, where it is widespread in the mountain ranges and deserts and found in several habitat types. Collinsia bartsiifolia is an annual herb producing a slender, hairy stem up to about 35 centimeters long. It is lined with a few thick, narrowly oblong leaves with edges slightly rolled under. The inflorescence is an interrupted series of whorls of flowers. The flower is white to lavender to purple, sometimes bicolored, pouched and folded, with two toothed upper lobes and three notched lower lobes.

Collinsia callosa is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name desert mountain blue-eyed Mary. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the mountains of the southernmost Sierra Nevada, the Transverse Ranges, and the mountains of the Mojave Desert region. It grows in desert scrub, chaparral, and woodland habitat on the mountain slopes. This is an annual herb producing a fleshy, somewhat thick stem up to about 25 centimeters tall. The plant is overall green to red in color. The leaves are oblong and thick, their edges slightly rolled under. They are oppositely arranged and some pairs clasp the stem where they meet.

Collinsia parviflora is a species of flowering plant in the Plantaginaceae known by the common names maiden blue eyed Mary and small-flowered collinsia. This tiny wildflower is a common plant throughout much of western and northern North America, where it grows in moist, shady mountain forests. Collinsia parviflora is an annual plant with a spindly reddish stem and narrow lance-shaped green leaves with edges that curl under. The minuscule flowers grow singly or in loose clusters of several. Each flower has five lobes, the lower deep blue to purple and the upper white. The whole corolla is only a few millimeters across. The fruit is a small capsule.

Comandra is a monotypic genus containing the single species Comandra umbellata. Its common names include bastard toadflax, umbellate bastard toadflax, and common comandra. The plant has a disjunct distribution; its four subspecies occur in North America and the Mediterranean. Comandra is a perennial herb growing about 8 to 34 cm tall. The leaves are up to 3. 3 cm long and are alternately arranged. The flowers lack petals, but have five greenish-white sepals. The flowers are insect-pollinated. The fruit is a drupe. Subspecies include:C. u. ssp. californica - California bastard toadflaxC. u. ssp. pallida - pale bastard toadflax, pine bastard toadflaxC. u. ssp. umbellataC. umbellata is semiparasitic; it is not holoparasitic as it obtains some nutrition through photosynthesis. It has a wide host range, parasitizing over 200 known plant species. These include Aster, Antennaria, Solidago, Rosa, Rubus, Fragaria, Vaccinium, Acer, Betula, Populus, Carex, and some grasses. Uses. A decoction of the plant parts was made by the Navajo people for narcotic and other medicinal usage. In times of food shortage, the berries were used by Native Americans as a food source, and though small, they have a sweet taste. Pathogens. C. umbellata is the alternate host for the comandra blister rust (Cronartium comandrae), a rust fungus that affects pine species in North America. Comandra blister rust can cause tree losses of up to 7% in some regions where it is common. When C. umb is infected by the rust aeciospores from the pine host, yellow, blister-like spots bearing urediniospores appear on the leaves of the plant within 20 days. In the following weeks, teliospores develop on brown, hairlike telia that germinate to produce basidiospores, the fungal life stage capable of infecting pines.

Condalia globosa is a perennial shrub of the Rhamnaceae family, that is commonly known as Bitter Condalia, also Snakewood. This shrub is native to Mexico in central and western Sonora and the Sea of Cortez, eastern regions of Baja California Sur and Baja California; also southwestern Arizona in the Sonoran Desert, and the associated region in southeastern California, in the Lower Colorado River Valley.

Desert lavender (Condea emoryi) is a fast-growing, aromatic shrub prized for its silvery-white, lavender-scented foliage and vibrant purple flowers, which can bloom year-round. Its fuzzy leaves and stems add texture to gardens, and it forms a dense, upright bush that can reach up to 12 feet tall and 8 feet wide.

As a semi-deciduous plant, desert lavender may drop some of its leaves during the heat of summer. It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, making it an excellent choice for low-maintenance, water-wise landscapes. While highly drought-tolerant, it can handle occasional summer watering, about once a month.

This versatile shrub can be pruned into a hedge, with pruning ideally done in summer or fall. desert lavender is deer-resistant and attracts pollinators, making its fragrant flowers a favorite for hummingbirds and bees.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selection from the Mojave Desert made by Carol Bornstein and introduced by santa Barabara Botanic Garden.

Cordylanthus ramosus is a species of flowering plant in the broomrape family known by the common name bushy bird's beak. It is native to the western United States where it grows in mountains and plateau, including the sagebrush of the Great Basin. It is an annual herb producing an erect, branching gray-green form, often tinted with red, becoming bushy at its most robust and appearing not unlike a sagebrush. The small leaves are narrow and linear or divided into several narrow, thready lobes. The inflorescence is a small spike of a few flowers surrounded by bracts which are linear or divided into narrow, thready lobes like the leaves. The bracts are faintly woolly and occasionally bristly in texture. The flower is one to two centimeters long with a hairy yellow pouch enclosed in darker, tougher reddish sepals. This plant had a number of historical medicinal uses for the Navajo people, who used it as an emetic.

Cordylanthus tenuis is a species of flowering plant in the broomrape family known by the common name slender bird's beak. It is native to the US states of California, Oregon, and Nevada, where it grows in woodland and forest. It erects a spindly stem which may exceed a meter in height with sparse narrow leaves a few centimeters long, and is sometimes sticky with glandular secretions. The plant is greenish and tinted with yellow or purple coloration. The stem branches at intervals and at the end of each branch is a cluster of one to several flowers. Each pocket-shaped flower is one to two centimeters long and about one wide, made up of fuzzy maroon lobes with white or yellow lips. There are several subspecies, including:

Corydalis aurea (Scrambled Eggs, Golden Corydalis, Golden Smoke; syn. Capnoides aureum (Willd.) Kuntze, Corydalis washingtoniana Fedde ) is a medicinal and poisonous plant native to North America , specially the United States. This is an annual or biennial herb growing from a branching caudex to a maximum length near 40 centimeters. There are several stems which are often decumbent, with leaves divided into leaflets with oval or diamond lobes. The flower cluster is a raceme of up to 30 flowers, each on a short pedicel. The flower is about a centimeter long, with a spur, and yellow in color. The fruit is a cylindrical capsule.

Crepis acuminata is a North American species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name tapertip hawksbeard. It is native to the western United States where it grows in many types of open habitat. Crepis acuminata is a perennial herb producing a woolly, branching stem up to about 70 centimeters (28 inches) tall from a taproot. The gray-green leaves are long and cut into many triangular, pointed lobes. The longest, near the base of the plant, may reach 40 centimeters (16 inches) in length. The inflorescence is an open array of flower heads at the top of the stem branches. Each of the many flower heads is enveloped in smooth or hairy phyllaries. The flower head opens into a face of up to 10 yellow ray florets. There are no disc florets. The fruit is a narrow achene 7 or 8 millimeters long tipped with a pappus of white hairlike bristles.

Crepis bakeri is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name Baker's hawksbeard. It is native to the western United States where it grows in many types of mountain and plateau habitat. It is found in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, northern California, Nevada, and Utah. Crepis bakeri is a perennial herb producing a dark green, hairy, glandular stem up to about 30 centimeters (12 inches) tall from taproot and a thick caudex at ground level. The leaves are narrowly oval and fringed with shallow lobes. They are dark dusty green with reddish or purplish veins and the basal leaves approach 20 centimeters (8 inches) in maximum length. The inflorescence is an open array of up to 22 flower heads. Each has a base of lance-shaped phyllaries which are hairy and often bristly. The flower head contains up to 60 yellow ray florets. There are no disc florets. The fruit is a thin achene up to a centimeter long with an off-white pappus.

Crepis intermedia is a North American species of flowering plants in the daisy family known by the common name limestone hawksbeard. It is native to western Canada (Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia) and the western United States (Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California). Crepis intermedia grows in many types of open and forested habitat. It is a perennial herb growing an erect, multibranched stem from a thick taproot, reaching up to 70 centimeters (28 inches) in height. It has woolly green herbage. The leaves are lined with triangular lobes and the lowest leaves approach 40 centimeters (16 inches) long. The inflorescence is an open array of many ligulate flower heads, each with woolly phyllaries and several yellow ray florets but no disc florets. The fruit is a narrow, ribbed achene just under a centimeter long.

Crepis modocensis is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name Modoc hawksbeard. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where it grows in several types of mountain and plateau habitat, including sagebrush. It is a perennial herb growing an erect stem up to 45 centimeters tall and often lined with long bristles. The woolly and sometimes bristly leaves are dark-veined and edged with blunt and sharp lobes. The longest leaves at the base of the plant reach about 25 centimeters long. The flower cluster bears one to ten flower heads with rough or bristly phyllaries and up to 60 yellow ray florets. The fruit is an achene around a centimeter long which is black in color, sometimes green or red tinted, and sports a tufty white pappus. There are several subspecies of this plant. The ssp. glareosa is endemic to Kittitas County, Washington.

Crepis occidentalis is a North American species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names western hawksbeard,:119 or largeflower hawksbeard. It is native to western Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan) and the western United States (from the Pacific to the western Great Plains). Crepis occidentalis grows in many types of habitat. It is a perennial herb growing a grayish woolly branching stem to about 40 centimeters (16 inches) in height from a deep taproot. The woolly, toothed leaves are up to 30 centimeters (12 inches) long at the base of the plant. The inflorescence produces several clusters of flower heads with hairy, often glandular phyllaries and many yellow ray florets but no disc florets. The fruit is a ribbed achene with a frilly pappus at the tip.

Crocidium multicaule is a species of plants in the daisy family known by the common name spring gold. This plant is native to western North America from British Columbia to California, where it can be found in varied habitats from grassland to woodland. It is a small annual, typically not exceeding 30 centimeters in height. It grows from a small patch of somewhat fleshy leaves at the ground and erects several very tall, very thin gangly stems, each of which is topped with a flower head. The flower head is made up of five to 13 lemon yellow ray florets, each up to a centimeter long. The center of the head is filled with tiny disc florets, in a similar shade of bright yellow. The fruits are fuzzy brown achenes only one or two millimeters long which turn gluey when wet.

Crossosoma bigelovii is one of only a few species in the flowering plant family Crossosomataceae. It is known by the common name ragged rockflower and it is native to the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of North America. It is a shrub growing one to two meters tall. It is intricately divided into thorn-tipped branches lined with clusters of small, deciduous, gray-green leaves no longer than about 1.5 centimeters. The flower cluster bears a single flower, which has white to purple-tinged petals about a centimeter long and narrowing to claws at their bases.

Croton californicus is a species of croton known by the common name California croton. This plant is a perennial or small shrub not exceeding a meter in height. The plant produces long oval-shaped leaves a few centimeters long and covered in a light-colored coat of hairs. This species is dioecious, with individual plants bearing either male (staminate) or female (pistillate) flowers, both only a few millimeters across. The staminate flowers are tiny cups filled with thready yellowish stamens and the pistillate flowers are the rounded, lobed immature fruits surrounded by tiny pointed sepals. This plant is native to California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Baja California, where it grows in the deserts and along the coastline.

Cryptantha ambigua is a species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common name basin cryptantha. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where it grows in many types of habitat, including forest, scrub, and sagebrush. It is an annual herb producing a branching stem 10 to 35 centimeters tall covered in stiff hairs. The hairy to bristly leaves are up to 4 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a linear array of developing fruits with a dense clump of open flowers at the tip. The bristly white five-lobed flowers are 3 or 4 millimeters wide.