California Hazel (Corylus cornuta var. californica) is a native shrub that grows in central and northern California. It is slow growing and long-lived. It grows in an upright form to a height of 18 feet, with active growth during the spring and summer. Flowers are yellow and bloom in the early spring. Leaves are medium green and deciduous. It tends to grow at elevations from 0-7000 feet.

Crassula aquatica is a succulent plant known by the common names water pygmyweed, common pygmyweed and just pigmyweed. It is an annual plant of salt marshes, vernal pools, wetlands, and other fresh to brackish water bodies. It is at least partially aquatic, living in areas which are submersed much of the time. It also lives along muddy banks and in tidally-active areas of estuaries. Crassula aquatica is a small plant forming thin mats or small patches on mud and sand, and growing more erect when exposed to open air for longer periods. The flesh of the plant is greenish-yellow to bright red or purplish. The tiny fleshy pointed leaves are only a few millimeters long. Crassula aquatica is a small plant forming thin mats or small patches on mud and sand, and growing more erect when exposed to open air for longer periods. The flesh of the plant is greenish-yellow to bright red or purplish. The tiny fleshy pointed leaves are only a few millimeters long. A flower grows on a short stalk from the intersection of each oppositely-arranged pair of leaves. The flower is only about two millimeters long and wide. The fruit is a minute follicle containing several seeds. This plant is widespread across North America and Eurasia. It is listed as a vulnerable species in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Crassula connata is a succulent plant known by the common names sand pygmyweed and pygmy stonecrop. It is a very small plant which grows in patches on the ground, especially in rocky areas. It is also sometimes associated with vernal pool plant communities. The stems are a few centimeters in length and are covered with tiny fleshy more or less rounded leaves. Each leaf is only millimeters long. The plant is green when new and it matures to shades of pink and red. It is found in western North America and in parts of Central and South America.

Cressa truxillensis is a species of flowering plant in the morning glory family known by the common name spreading alkaliweed. It is native to the western United States and Mexico, where it grows in habitat with saline or alkaline soils, such as beaches, desert flats, and playas. This is a perennial herb producing an erect stem with many branches up to about 25 centimeters tall. The clump of stems is densely lined with silky hairs and studded with many small hairy oval leaves, each under a centimeter long. Flowers appear in the axils of the uppermost leaves. Each has a white corolla with five pointed lobes surrounded by hairy green sepals. There are five protruding stamens and two styles.

Turkey Mullein (Croton setigerus) is a squat plant with furry, feltlike, heart-shaped leaves that are pale gray green. The small green flowers are covered in soft bristles. It is about 8 inches high and has a rounded form.  As a result it is often planted in outdoor flower pots.

It takes full sun or part shade, requires very little water and is easy or moderately easy to grow. 

The foliage is toxic to animals. Birds, particularly doves and Wild Turkeys are attracted to the seeds. It hosts several butterfly and moth species.

Flaccid Cryptantha (Cryptantha flaccida) is a native annual herb that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in open areas, at elevations from 0-6000 feet.

Cryptantha muricata is a species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common name pointed cryptantha. It is native to California and adjacent parts of Arizona, Baja California, and Nevada, where it is known from many habitat types. It is an annual herb producing a branching 10 centimeters to one meter in height which is coated densely in rough and soft hairs. The leaves are linear in shape and no more than 4 centimeters long. They have hairs and bristles, some of which have bulbous bases. The flower cluster is a length of very hairy developing fruits tipped with a cluster of small five-lobed white flowers.

Cryptantha nevadensis is a species of wildflower in the borage family known by the common names Nevada catseye and Nevada forget-me-not. This small plant is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico where it grows in sandy and rocky soils in varied habitats across the region. Like other cryptanthas it is a very hairy, bristly flowering herb with a curling inflorescence that resembles that of fiddlenecks. This is an annual plant rarely exceeding half a meter in height. It is covered in long, white hairs and its tiny white flowers are about half a centimeter wide. The fruit is a bumpy nutlet.

Beaked Cryptantha (Cryptantha rostellata) is a native annual herb that grows in central and northern California. It tends to grow at elevations from 0-3000 feet.

Cucurbita foetidissima (buffalo gourd, calabazilla, chilicote, coyote gourd, fetid gourd, Missouri gourd, stinking gourd, wild gourd, wild pumpkin) is a xerophytic tuberous plant found in the southwestern USA and northwestern Mexico. A member of the cucumber family, the fruit is consumed by humans and non-human animals both. The fruit can be eaten cooked like a squash when very young. As the fruit becomes fully mature, it is too bitter for humans to eat. At this stage, the fruit is used by natives for decorative purposes or in making musical instruments, particularly rattles. The seeds are the source of buffalo gourd oil. It grows fast (including a massive underground tuber) with little water, and some have proposed growing it for fuel or biofuel ethanol

Cucurbita palmata is a species of flowering plant in the squash family known by the common names coyote melon and coyote gourd. It is similar to Cucurbita californica, Cucurbita cordata, Cucurbita cylindrata, and Cucurbita digitata and all these species hybridize readily. It was first identified by Sereno Watson in 1876. These species form the only restricted xerophyte species group in the genus Cucurbita. Each member of this species group is native to the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico where they are relatively uncommon. Each group member is found in hot, arid regions with low rainfall. They prefer soil that is loose, gravelly, and well-drained. C. palmata is native to northeastern Baja California, southeastern California, and southwestern Arizona to a point near the Colorado River. The juvenile leaves of C. cylindrata, C. cordata, C. digitata, and C. palmata show a high degree of similarity, but their mature leaves are visibly different, as are their root structures. C. palmata and C. digitata are sympatric, with C. palmata separating the ranges of C. digitata at the juncture of Baja California, California, and Arizona. C. palmata fruits are diffuse green mottle that turns yellow at maturity, striped, and round. Cucurbita palmata is a sprawling vine with rough, stiff-haired stems and leaves. The dark green, light-veined leaves are sharply palmate with usually five long triangular points. Cucurbita palmata is a sprawling vine with rough, stiff-haired stems and leaves. The dark green, light-veined leaves are sharply palmate with usually five long triangular points. The stiff, curling yellow flowers are 6 to 8 centimeters wide. The plant bears smooth spherical or oblate squash fruits 8 to 10 centimeters wide. The fruits may be bright yellow to dark green and may have white stripes. The fruit is distasteful and not edible.

Cuscuta californica is a species of dodder known by the common names Chaparral dodder and California dodder. It is native to western North America. Cuscuta californica is a parasitic vine which climbs other plants and takes nutrition directly from them via a haustorium. The dodder resembles a pile of yellow-orange straw wrapped tightly around its host plant. It is mostly stem; the leaves are reduced to scales on the stem's surface, since they are not needed for photosynthesis while the dodder is obtaining nutrients from its host. It bears tiny white flowers which are only about 3 millimeters wide, and fruits which are even smaller.

Cyperus strigosus is a species of sedge known by the common names false nutsedge and straw-colored flatsedge. It is native to most of the United States and Canada, where it grows in wet areas in many habitat types, including disturbed and cultivated areas such as roadsides and crop fields. It is common and sometimes weedy. It is a perennial sedge growing up to 70 centimeters tall. The flower cluster is a cluster of many linear-shaped spikelets up to 3 centimeters long each. A few long, leaflike leafs grow at the base of the spike.

Cystopteris fragilis is a species of fern known by the common names brittle bladderfern and common fragile fern. It can be found worldwide, generally in shady, moist areas. The leaves are up to 30 or 40 centimeters long and are borne on fleshy petioles. Each leaf is divided into many pairs of leaflets, each of which is subdivided into lobed segments. The underside of the leaf has many rounded sori containing the sporangia.

Damasonium californicum is a species of perennial wildflower in the water plantain family which is known by the common name Fringed Water-plantain, or Star Water-plantain. This is a plant of wet environments in the western United States from Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, California, Montana, Washington State. Damasonium californicum is a resident of ponds, riversides, and vernal pools. This is a tough-stemmed plant which may live submersed in water or erect on mud or moist soils. It has long, narrow leaves consisting of a thin blade at the end of a long petiole. The inflorescence yields a flower at the end of each of several long peduncles. The flower has three white or pink petals, each with toothed or fringed ends and sometimes a yellow spot at the base. At the center are six short stamens. After the flower withers the fruits develop into flat, beaked achenes, several achenes gathered into a star-shaped bunch.

Daucus pusillus is a species of wild carrot known by the common names American wild carrot and rattlesnake weed. It is similar in appearance to other species and subspecies of wild carrot, with umbels of white or pinkish flowers. The taproots are small, edible carrots. This is a common plant found along the west coast of North America from Baja California to British Columbia; as an example occurrence in Baja California, D. pusillus occurs in association with Mimulus aridus and Adiantum jordanii.

Clustered Tarweed (Hemizonia fasciculata) is a ative annual herb in the Asteraceae (Sunflower) family. It was formerly classified as Hemizonia fasciculata, and some sources may still refer to it that way. It grows in southern and central California from the coast into the west slope of the mountains, from San Luis Obispo County southwards into Baja. It tends to grow in grasslands, woodlands and coastal sage scrub at elevations from sea level to about 4,000 feet. Its long blooming season makes it a dependable source of color in wildflower gardens. The composite flowers have 5 ray flowers and six disk flowers. It is sometimes included in wildflower seed mixes and is useful in restoration projects.

Deinandra kelloggii, Kellogg's spikeweed or Kellogg's tarweed, is a North American species of plants in the tarweed tribe within the (sunflower family). It is native to Baja California, southern and central California (from Sonoma and Calaveras Counties south to San Diego County), and Arizona (Pima County). Deinandra kelloggii is an annual herb, sometimes growing to a height of 150 cm (5 feet). The plant produces numerous flower heads, each with 5 yellow ray florets and 6 disc florets with yellow corollas but with yellow, red, brown, or maroon anthers.

Deinandra lobbii, called threeray tarweed, is a North American species of plants in the tarweed tribe within the (sunflower family). It is endemic to California, though with a disjunct (discontinuous) distribution. It has been found in the northeastern part of the state (Modoc, Lassen, and Shasta Cos. ) the San Francisco Bay region (Solano, Contra Costa, and Alameda Cos. ) and west-central region (Monterey, San Benito, and northern San Luis Obispo Cos). Calflora also reports a collection from Santa Clara County but this is from the central part of the campus of Stanford University, hence most likely a cultivated specimen. Deinandra lobbii is an annual herb up to 70 cm (28 inches) tall. It has numerous flower heads in a showy array. Each head has 3 (occasionally 4) yellow ray florets plus 3 (occasionally 4) disc florets with yellow corollas and red or dark purple anthers.

Deinandra pallida, called Kern tarweed, is a California species of plants in the tarweed tribe within the sunflower family. It has been found in the Coast Ranges, southern San Joaquin Valley, and Sierra Nevada foothills in Kern, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Tulare, and Kings Counties. Isolated populations have been reported from farther north in Tuolumne County and northwestern Fresno County. Deinandra pallida is an annual herb up to 100 cm (40 inches) tall. It produces numerous flower heads in showy arrays, each head with 7-12 yellow ray florets and as many as 21 disc florets with yellow corollas and yellow or brown anthers.

San Diego Tarweed (Hemizonia paniculata) is a rare native annual herb that grows in Southern and Central California, primarily in the South Coast and Peninsular Range regions. It tends to grow in dry foothills and mesas, at elevations from 0-1000 feet.

Deinandra pentactis , called Salinas River tarweed, is a North American species of plants in the tarweed tribe within the (sunflower family). It is endemic to California, found in the Coast Ranges of San Benito, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and northern Santa Barbara Counties. Deinandra pentactis is an annual herb up to 75 cm (30 inches) tall. It produces numerous flower heads in an open array. Each head has 5 yellow ray florets and 6 disc florets with yellow corollas but red or purple anthers.

Delphinium decorum is a species of larkspur known by the common names coastal larkspur and yellowtinge larkspur. This wildflower is endemic to California, where it grows on the slopes of the coastal ranges in the San Francisco Bay Area and north. It grows an erect stem which approaches half a meter in height at maximum. The leaves, which are divided into a number of narrow lobes, are mostly located about the base of the plant. The spindly stem above bears two to twenty widely spaced flowers. Each flower is carried on a pedicel several centimeters long. The five long, flat sepals are extended to give the face of the flower a star shape, and they are usually deep blue to purple. The petals are similar in color, except the top two may be lighter to almost white. The spur is very thin and may be nearly two centimeters long.

Delphinium gypsophilum is a species of larkspur known by the common name Pinoche Creek larkspur. It is endemic to California, where it grows throughout the central part of the state in woodland and grassland. This wildflower generally reaches between one half and one meter in height. Its pale whitish-green stem is topped with cylindrical inflorescences of up to 30 flowers on short pedicels. The flowers are chalk-white, sometimes drying to a faint blue. Occasional individuals bear pink or light blue flowers. The spur is one to one and a half centimeters long.

Delphinium parryi is a species of larkspur known by the common names San Bernardino larkspur and Parry's larkspur. It is native to Baja California and California from the San Francisco Bay Area south. This wildflower may approach a meter in maximum height. It has fuzzy stems and fuzzy, deeply lobed leaves. The flower cluster holds a few to over 60 flowers on long pedicels. The sepals and petals are deep purple to light blue, with the upper petals often white. The spur may be over two centimeters long.

Delphinium uliginosum is a species of larkspur known by the common names swamp larkspur and bog larkspur. It is endemic to California, where it is known from very localized populations in the Inner North Coast Ranges. It grows in chaparral, grassland, and other habitat in the hills, generally on serpentine soils. This is a perennial herb producing a hairless, erect stem up to 70 centimeters tall. It can be identified by its leaves, which are fan-shaped, a characteristic unique among the larkspurs, which generally have palmate leaves with narrow, fingerlike lobes. The flower cluster bears up to 45 flowers, each on an upright pedicel which may exceed 10 centimeters long. The flower is blue with the longest sepals 1.4 centimeters long and a spur about the same length. The fruit is one or two centimeters long.

Delphinium variegatum is a species of larkspur known by the common name royal larkspur. It is endemic to California, where it grows in mountains, valley and coast in woodlands and grasslands. On the forest floor of California oak woodlands typical plant associates are Calochortus luteus, Cynoglossum grande and Calochortus amabilis. This erect wildflower may reach half a meter in maximum height. Its leaves have deep lobes which may overlap. The long petioles are hairy. The branching flower cluster holds up to 25 widely spaced flowers, which are usually bright deep blue, and occasionally lighter blue or white, depending on subspecies. The spur is between one and two centimeters long. There are three generally accepted subspecies. Two of them, ssp. kinkiense and ssp. thornei, are endemic to San Clemente Island, one of the Channel Islands of California. The former, which is sometimes called Delphinium kinkiense ssp. kinkiense, is treated as a federally listed endangered species. Although it is in fact rarer than ssp. kinkiensis, ssp. thornei does not have a federal or state listing.

Tufted Hair-grass or Tussock grass (Deschampsia cespitosa or Deschampsia caespitosa) is a wild plant from the grass family (Poaceae). Distribution of this grass species is widespread including the eastern and western extremes of North America, parts of South America and Eurasia. In California it is most commonly found in the central and northern portions of the state, including the Coast Ranges and Sierras. It is found in coastal prairie habitat and mountain meadows, along with other native grasses such as Fescues (Festuca spp.) and Needlegrass (Stipa spp.). It is most often found in moist to very wet areas such as freshwater or saltwater marsh, riparian areas, and woodland/forest habitats.

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

Deschampsia danthonioides is a species of grass known by the common name annual hairgrass. It is native to western North America from the Yukon Territory and British Columbia, through California and the Western United States, to Baja California, and also to southern South America in Chile and Argentina. The annual bunchgrass grows in moist to drying areas such as pond edges, meadows and grasslands, in various habitat types such as montane and chaparral. Deschampsia danthonioides has stems growing solitary or in loose clumps up to 40 to 60 centimeters tall. The inflorescence is a narrow to open array of thin branches bearing small V-shaped spikelets.

Deschampsia elongata is a species of grass known by the common name slender hairgrass. It is native to western North America from Alaska to Wyoming to northern Mexico, and South America in Chile. It grows at all elevations, often in moist areas. It is a perennial grass forming dense clumps sometimes exceeding a meter in height. Most of the leaves are located in a tuft about the base of the stems. The flower cluster is a thin row of V-shaped spikelets arranged parallel to and mostly flat against the stem.

Descurainia pinnata is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name western tansymustard. It is native to North America, where it is widespread and found in varied habitats. It is especially successful in deserts. It is a hardy plant which easily becomes weedy, and can spring up in disturbed, barren sites with bad soil. This is a hairy, heavily branched, mustardlike annual which is quite variable in appearance. There are several subspecies which vary from each other and individuals within a subspecies may look different depending on the climate they endure. This may be a clumping thicket or a tall, erect mustard. It generally does not exceed 70 centimeters in height. It has highly lobed or divided leaves with pointed, toothed lobes or leaflets. At the tips of the stem branches are tiny yellow flowers. The fruit is a silique one half to two centimeters long upon a threadlike pedicel. This plant reproduces only from seed. This tansymustard is toxic to grazing animals in large quantities due to nitrates and thiocyanates; however, it is a nutritious in smaller amounts. The flowers are attractive to butterflies. The seeds are said to taste somewhat like black mustard and were utilized as food by Native American peoples such as the Navajo.

Dichondra (Dichondra donelliana) is a uncommon native perennial herb or vine that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in open slopes and moist fields, at elevations from 0-1000 feet.

Western Ponysfoot (Dichondra occidentalis) is a rare native perennial herb that grows in Southern and Central California, primarily in the South Coast and Channel Islands regions. It tends to grow in slopes, at elevations from 200-1600 feet.

Blue Dicks (Dipterostemon capitatus), also called Wild Hyacinth, Purplehead and Brodiaea (alternate spellings, Brodiea, Brodeia) occur in Arizona, California, Oregon, Utah, New Mexico, and northern Mexico.

This species has three recognized subspecies: D. capitatus subsp. lacuna-vernalis, Dipterostemon capitatus subsp. capitatus, and Dipterostemon capitatum subsp. pauciflorus. Dipterostemon capitatus is an herbaceous perennial, growing from an underground corm. It has 2 or 3 leaves, which are 4-16 inches long.

The flower cluster is head- or umbel-like, and dense. It usually contains 2 to 15 flowers, which have a blue, blue-purple, pink-purple, or white perianth. The flower tube is 0.1-0.5 inch and is narrowly cylindrical to bell-shaped. Flowers have six fertile stamens, deeply notched, lance-shaped, white, angled inward, slightly reflexed at tip, with outer filaments wider at the base. It has a twisted and fleshy peduncle, a set of membranous, petal-like stamen appendages around the anthers, and angular black seeds.

It reproduces from seed and vegetative means in the form of cormlets. The cormlets are attached to the parent corm by stolons and are sessile, produced in the axils of the old leaf bases on the mature corm. Plants thrive in open disturbed environments and are a common post-fire succession species in chaparral.

Saltgrass (Distichlis spicata) is a hardy, creeping perennial grass in the Poaceae family, found throughout California’s coastal salt marshes, alkali sinks, and other saline environments. It’s known for its ability to thrive in salty, alkaline soils by excreting excess salt through its leaves. The narrow, stiff green leaves may appear crusted with salt, adding to its distinctive look.

While not commonly used in residential gardens, saltgrass is an excellent choice for restoration projects along coastlines, rivers, and wetlands. It spreads through rhizomes, forming dense mats that can handle heavy foot traffic. Planting is best done in late spring using plugs or rhizomes spaced one foot apart.

Saltgrass also supports native wildlife, providing food for waterfowl and occasional grazing for livestock. Its adaptability and resilience make it a valuable plant for ecological restoration in challenging environments.

Downingia bella, also known as Hoover's calicoflower or Hoover's Downingia, is a member of the Bellflower Family (Campanulaceae). The genus is named after A. J. Downing (1815-1852) a noted American horticulturist and landscape architect. This native annual herb is endemic to California and found in valley grassland communities. Its habitat is wetlands, generally vernal pools between 4600 and 5250 feet (1400 to 1600m). As approximately 90% of vernal pools in California have been lost, D. bella is uncommon. The range of D. bella is scattered from locations in Riverside County to areas in the Great Central Valley. Like all Downingia, the stem is decumbent to erect with leaves that are along the stem and often fall before the plant flowers. The flowers are sessile and in a spike inflorescence with individual flowers having a corolla length of 10 to 12 mm. The corolla is glabrous and has 2 distinct lips, the upper with 2 lobes and lower with 3 lobes. The upper lobes are narrowly triangular or elliptic in shape while the lower lobes are obtuse and abruptly toothed. The corolla is blue with the lower lip having a central white field which then has two yellow spots (can be joined) in its middle. At the throat D. bella has 2 raised nipples that generally have 3 alternating purple spots. The 5 fused stamens have anthers that are included in the corolla tube and are angled less than 45 degrees to filaments. The inferior ovary is pedicel-like and is 2 chambered. The fruits of D. bella are between 16 to 18 mm with tough lateral walls that are tardily dehiscent despite no noticeable translucent lines. The seeds within the fruit are longitudinally striate. Some areas in northern Sutter County have D. bella with a minute corolla horn similar to D. ornatissima. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Downingia bella.

Downingia bicornuta is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name doublehorn calicoflower. This showy wildflower is native to the western United States from California to Idaho, where it is a resident of lakesides and vernal pool ecosystems. This annual grows on a branching erect stem with small leaves at intervals. At the top of each stem branch is one or more flowers, each between one and two centimeters wide. The flower has two long, narrow, pointed upper lobes which may be blue or purple. The three lower lobes are fused into one three-lobed surface, which is blue or purple with two bright yellow blotches rimmed with white in the center. The mouth of the flower tube is surrounded by knobby projections of the sepals. The fruit is a dehiscent capsule three to seven centimeters long.

Downingia insignis is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common names harlequin calicoflower and cupped downingia. This showy wildflower is native to the western United States from California to Idaho, where it is a resident of lakesides and vernal pool ecosystems. This annual grows on a branching erect stem with small, pointed leaves at intervals. At the top of each stem branch is one or more flowers, each one to one and a half centimeters wide. The upper lip is made up of two narrow, pointed lobes which are purple or blue with prominent dark veining. The lower lip is the same veined color with a central blotch of white. In the white area are two yellow spots, which are raised into nipplelike projections, and sometimes spots of darker purple near the mouth of the tube. The lower lip is divided into three lobes which may be pointed or rounded. The fruit is a capsule four to eight centimeters long. The stamens are fused into an erect stalk holding a light-colored anther.

Downingia ornatissima is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name folded calicoflower. This showy wildflower is endemic to California, where it is a resident of vernal pools and other wet places in the Central Valley. This annual grows an erect, branching stem with usually one tubular flower at the top of each branch. The flower has an upper lip made up of two narrow, pointed lobes in shades of light purple, and a lower lip made up of three lobes fused into one surface, which is the same color as the upper lip and has a central field of white with two prominent yellow projections. The flower is similar to those of other downingias, except it is lightly crinkled, with the upper lobes often curled back and the edges of the lower lobes uneven. The dark blue anther just emerges from where it is tucked between the upper lobes.

Downingia pulchella is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common names flatface calicoflower and valley calicoflower. This showy wildflower is endemic to California, where it is a resident of vernal pools and other wet places in the central part of the state from the Tehachapi Mountains to the San Francisco Bay Area. This annual produces an erect, branching stem which has usually one tubular flower at the top of each branch. The upper lip of the flower is made up of two narrow, pointed lobes which usually stick straight out and are lavender or white. The lower lip is the same color and made up of three fused lobes, each of which may have a tooth. In the center of the lower lip is a large white area with two bright yellow spots and smaller dark purple spots near the mouth of the tube. A large anther sticks out of the mouth of the flower on a stalk of fused stamens. The flower is one to two centimeters wide. The fruit is a capsule three to seven centimeters long.

Dudleya setchellii, the Santa Clara Valley Dudleya, is a member of the Dudleya genus of succulent perennials, members of the family Crassulaceae. The Santa Clara Valley Dudleya was listed on February 3, 1995, as an endangered species. Dudleya setchellii is found only in the Coyote Valley area of southern Santa Clara County, California, mostly on rocky outcrops within serpentine grasslands on Tulare Hill and Santa Teresa Hill west of Coyote Creek in south San Jose and south of Metcalf Canyon east of Coyote Creek. A large population was destroyed with County approval for the housing development on Communications Hill. The City Council conceded to the pressures of the developer and took money to fund a plan checker in exchange for granting development rights which appears to have impacted the single largest recorded population of this endangered plant. More recently, goats have been used for weed control near the Coyote Creek Golfcourse and were observed feeding amongst the serpentine boulders where this plant is found. It is illegal to collect plants or seed and it has recently been turning up at local nursery sales, obviously from wild collected plants.

Dudleya variegata is a succulent plant known by the common name variegated liveforever. It is native to Baja California and adjacent San Diego County, California, where it grows in several habitat types, including chaparral and vernal pools. It is a fleshy perennial forming a small basal cluster of leaves around a small stem. The thick leaves are spoon-shaped to oblong to spherical or globular. The flower cluster is a mostly erect, branching stem up to 20 centimeters tall splitting into branches nearly as long. Each branch bears several flowers with fleshy triangular sepals and longer yellow petals.

Eastwoodia is a North American genus of plants in the sunflower family. It contains the single species Eastwoodia elegans, a flower known by the common name yellow mock aster or yellow aster. It is endemic to California. This plant is found only on the grasslands and hillsides of central California, from the Bay Area south to the Tehachapis. Eastwoodia elegansis is a shrub which sends up several erect and branched stems up to 100 cm (40 inches) tall. One plant can produce several yellow flower heads, each containing as many as 40 disc florets but no ray florets. The stems have a shredding bark and small leaves rarely more than 5 cm (2 inches) long.

Eleocharis acicularis is a species of spikesedge known by the common names needle spikerush and dwarf hairgrass. It has a circumboreal distribution and it can also be found throughout the rest of the Americas. It lives in Australia, where it was probably an introduced species. This is an annual or perennial spikesedge with long, grasslike stems to about 15 centimeters in height, shorter in bog conditions, from a creeping rhizome. In shallow water it will form short spikes of tiny flowers amongst flat overlapping leafs. The tiny flowers are less than five millimeters in diameter and are borne at the tip of each stem in single, sharply pointed, lanceoloid spikelets up to about six millimeters long. This is a plant of marshes, vernal pools, and bogs, and it is also used as an aquarium plant. It thrives with plenty of light and a high concentration of carbon dioxide.

Elymus elymoides is a species of wild rye known by the common name squirreltail. This grass is native to most of North America west of the Mississippi River. It occurs in a number of ecosystems, from alpine forest to desert sage scrub to valley grassland. It is a perennial bunch grass growing to around half a meter in height. Its erect solid stems have flat or rolled leaf blades. The flower cluster is up to 15 centimeters long and somewhat stiff and erect, with spikelets one or two centimeters long not counting the awn, which may be 9 centimeters long and sticks straight out, making the flower cluster look like a bottlebrush. This grass is considered a very good forage for sheep. It is best for grazing during the winter, when it is small and green. It becomes less palatable to livestock when its awns grow long and sharp at maturity.

Blue wildrye (Elymus glaucus) is a perennial bunchgrass that grows upright to about 4 feet. It grows as narrow tufts of several erect stems and spreads outward by rhizomes.  It is a common and widespread species native to North America from Alaska to New York to northern Mexico. 

Blue wildrye is a crucial soil stabilizer, habitat creator, and food source for local wildlife. The seeds are a food source for native mammals and birds.

This is a popular accent grass for the garden, providing green to blue green color and texture contrast. It can hybridize with other species of Elymus to produce highly variable forms. 

Elymus multisetus is a species of wild rye known by the common name big squirreltail. It is native to the western United States where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a perennial grass reaching 60 centimeters in maximum height. The flower cluster is an array of spikelets each with several long, hairlike awns which may be up to 20 centimeters long.

Elymus triticoides is species in the Poaceae (Grass) family known by the common names Creeping Wild Rye and Beardless Wild Rye. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Texas, where it often grows in moist habitat, sometimes with heavy and saline soils. It forms a solid, rhizomatous root system which allows it to grow at water's edge and prevent the soil from eroding. It reaches 1.3 meters in maximum height with stiff, slender green to blue-green leaves that stand away from the stems at an obvious angle. The flower cluster is a narrow spike up to 20 centimeters long. This grass is not frequently used in residential gardens, but it is a good range land grass for grazing, and it is used to stabilize waterways because of its soil-retaining rhizome network.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selected for use in the garden, horticultural selection from Elymus triticoides. Introduced by Suncrest Nurseries.

Empetrum nigrum is a species of crowberry known as black crowberry which is native to most northern areas of the northern hemisphere, as well as the Falkland Islands in the southern hemisphere. In gardening, it can be grown in acidic soils in shady, moist areas. It can be used for the edible berries, for a purple dye, or as a ground cover.

Black Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum) is a rare native shrub that grows in northern California.