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.

Epilobium ciliatum is a species of willowherb known by the common names Fringed Willowherb and American Willowherb. This plant is found in many parts of the world. It is native to much of North America and eastern Asia, and it is an introduced species in much of Eurasia and Australia. It may be found in a great variety of habitats, including disturbed areas and roadsides. This is a clumping perennial often exceeding one and a half meters in height. It has thickly veined lance-shaped leaves which may be up to 15 centimeters long toward the base of the plant. The foliage, stem, and flower cluster are covered in bristly hairs and glands. The trumpet-shaped flowers have four petals which are so deeply notched they look like four pairs. They are white to light purple or pink with dark veining. The fruit is a narrow, hairy capsule up to 10 centimeters in length, and it may be held on a long stalk.

Fringed Willowherb (Epilobium ciliatum ssp. ciliatum) is a abundant native perennial herb that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in disturbed or recently burned places, moist meadows and streambanks, at elevations from 0-13500 feet.

Fringed Willowherb (Epilobium ciliatum ssp. glandulosum) is a abundant native perennial herb that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in disturbed or recently burned places, moist meadows and streambanks, at elevations from 5000-9000 feet.

Epilobium clavatum is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common names Talus Willowherb and Clavatefruit Willowherb. It is native to western North America from Alaska to northern California to Colorado, where it grows in rocky high mountain habitat such as talus. It is a clumping perennial herb forming bristly mounds up to about 20 centimeters high and spreading outward via tough stolons. The oval-shaped leaves are 1 to 3 centimeters long. The inflorescence is an erect raceme of flowers, each with four small pink petals. The fruit is a capsule up to 4 centimeters long.

Epilobium cleistogamum is a species of willowherb known by the common name selfing willowherb. This plant is endemic to central California where it is a resident of vernal pools and mudflats. It is a small annual plant with fuzzy pointed green leaves. Some of the leaves have hairs which are knobby and gland-tipped. The flowers are usually cleistogamous, that is, they self-pollinate without opening. Some of the flowers do open to reveal pinkish-purple to nearly white, deeply notched petals. The fruit is a tough four-sided capsule about a centimeter long.

Epilobium glaberrimum is a species of willowherb known by the common name glaucous willowherb. This clumping perennial wildflower is native to western North America from central Canada to northern Mexico. It generally grows at some elevation in moist places. This plant is somewhat variable in appearance. It may exceed half a meter in height and has hairless foliage with leaves between one and 8 centimeters long. The flower has four notched petals in purple, pink, or white which may be only a couple of millimeters long to over a centimeter long each. The fruit is a narrow, sticklike capsule 2 to 7 centimeters long. Two subspecies are recognized as valid:

Epilobium lactiflorum is a species of willowherb known by the common name milkflower willowherb or whiteflower willowherb. This plant is found throughout northern North America and northern Eurasia, where it most often grows in moist, rocky areas at some elevation. It is a hairy, clumping perennial with thin stems reaching 10 to 50 centimeters in height, and leafy stolons. The leaves are 2 to 5 centimeters long and have hairs along the edges and winged petioles. The tiny flowers are usually white, sometimes pink, and have notched petals 3 to 6 millimeters long. The fruit is a hairy capsule up to 10 centimeters in length.

Epilobium oregonense is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name Oregon willowherb. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Arizona, where it generally grows in moist places in several types of habitat. It is a perennial herb growing spindly erect stems approaching 40 centimeters high or sometimes forming mats spreading via stolons. The small leaves are rounded near the base of the plant and linear in shape farther up the stem. The inflorescence bears flowers with four white to pink petals each a few millimeters long. The fruit is an elongated capsule up to 5 centimeters in length which is borne on a long pedicel which may be longer than the capsule itself.

Equisetum arvense, commonly known as the Field Horsetail or Common Horsetail, is a rather bushy perennial with a rhizomatous stem formation native to the northern hemisphere. These horsetails may have sterile or fertile stems. Sterile stems start to grow after the fertile stems have wilted. The sterile stems tend to be much taller and bushier, with the jointed segments being around one inch long with a diameter of about 1/20th of an inch. These segments contain one set of whorled, slender, erect branches each. Some stems can have as many as 20 segments and be as tall as 2-24 inches. The fertile stems tend to be half as tall as the sterile stems and also tend to be more succulent. This plant also has a very high diploid number - 216 (108 pairs of chromosomes) - which is roughly 5 times greater than the human diploid number (46).

Equisetum hyemale (Rough Horsetail or Scouring Rush) is a widespread species ative to moist forests, forest edges and stream banks, swamps, fens throughout most of California. It is primarily found in wetlands, and in riparian zones of rivers and streams where it can withstand seasonal flooding. It is also found around springs and seeps, and can indicate their presence when not flowing. Other habitats include moist forest and woodland openings, lake and pond shores, ditches, and marshes and swamps. It has jointed reed-like stalks impregnated with silica which makes them feel rough to the touch. The rough bristles have been used to scour or clean pots, used as sandpaper, as well as to shape the reeds of reed instruments such as clarinets or saxophones. Boiled and dried Equisetum hyemale is used as traditional polishing material like fine grit sandpaper in Japan. Best used in a container. If planted in the ground it can be an aggressive spreader. It is popular on the margin of ponds and bioswales.

Equisetum laevigatum is a species of horsetail known by the common names smooth scouring rush and smooth horsetail. This plant is native to much of North America except for northern Canada and southern Mexico. It is usually found in moist areas in sandy and gravelly substrates. It may be annual or perennial. It grows narrow green stems sometimes reaching heights exceeding 1.5 meters. The leaves at the nodes are small, scale-like brownish sheaths and there are occasionally small, spindly branches. The stems are topped with rounded cone-shaped sporangia.

Equisetum telmateia (great horsetail or northern giant horsetail) is a species of Equisetum (horsetail) with an unusual distribution, with one subspecies native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa, and a second subspecies native to western North America. The North American subspecies is often simply but ambiguously called "giant horsetail", but that name may just as well refer to the Latin American Equisetum giganteum and Equisetum myriochaetum. It is a herbaceous perennial plant, with separate green photosynthetic sterile stems, and pale yellowish non-photosynthetic spore-bearing fertile stems. The sterile stems, produced in late spring and dying down in late autumn, are 30-150 centimeter (rarely to 240 centimeter) tall (the tallest species of horsetail outside of tropical regions) and 1 centimeter diameter, heavily branched, with whorls of 14-40 branches, these up to 20 centimeter long, 1-2 millimeter diameter and unbranched, emerging from the axils of a ring of leafs. The fertile stems are produced in early spring before the sterile shoots, growing to 15-45 centimeter tall with an apical spore-bearing strobilus 4-10 centimeter long and 1-2 centimeter broad, and no side branches; the spores disperse in mid spring, with the fertile stems dying immediately after spore release. Occasional plants produce stems that are both fertile and photosynthetic.

Giant Horsetail (Equisetum telmateia var. braunii) is a native fern that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in moist places, at elevations from 0-4500 feet.

Eragrostis hypnoides is a species of grass known by the common name teal lovegrass. It is native to the Americas from Canada to Argentina. It is found in moist areas near water in substrates of sand or mud. Eragrostis hypnoides is a mat-forming, creeping annual, rooting at stolons and sending up short erect stem tips to about 10 centimeters in height at maximum. The inflorescences atop the erect portions have small spikelets about a centimeter long which are yellow-green to slightly purple. Eragrostis hypnoides is a mat-forming, creeping annual, rooting at stolons and sending up short erect stem tips to about 10 centimeters in height at maximum. The inflorescences atop the erect portions have small spikelets about a centimeter long which are yellow-green to slightly purple.

Eragrostis pectinacea is a species of grass known by the common name Tufted lovegrass. This plant is native to the Americas from Canada to Argentina. It is widespread, growing in most open spaces at varying elevations and habitats, including in disturbed areas and roadsides. Eragrostis pectinacea is an annual tuft-forming bunchgrass, reaching maximum heights of anywhere from 10 to 80 centimeters. It is mostly hairless except for a fringe of hairs near where the leaf blade meets the sheath. The inflorescence is open with spreading branches holding yellowish to purplish spikelets, each just under centimeter long. Each narrow spikelet has up to 15 or 20 tiny florets. Eragrostis pectinacea is an annual tuft-forming bunchgrass, reaching maximum heights of anywhere from 10 to 80 centimeters. It is mostly hairless except for a fringe of hairs near where the leaf blade meets the sheath. The inflorescence is open with spreading branches holding yellowish to purplish spikelets, each just under centimeter long. Each narrow spikelet has up to 15 or 20 tiny florets.

Rubber rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa) provides year-round visual interest in waterwise and pollinator gardens. This medium-sized shrub is a member of the Sunflower family and thrives in dry regions of the Western US. "Rubber" refers to the plant's sap and "nauseosa" is a nod to its pungent scent. The plant is also sometimes called chamisa.

Rubber rabbitbrush blooms from summer into fall. The tubular flowers are golden-yellow in color. They are attractive to butterflies, bees, and other late season pollinators. Even when not in bloom, the blue-green, needlelike leaves and pale stems add color to the landscape.

Rubber rabbitbrush is a low moisture plant that likes full sun and sandy, well-draining soil. It's a low maintenance shrub that can be used in soil stabilization and restoration applications. It normally grows to about 5 ft in height although some plants can reach 9 ft tall. Winter pruning shapes rubber rabbitbrush and encourages next year's blooms.

Conyza canadensis (sometimes called Erigeron canadensis L. ) is an annual plant native throughout most of North America and Central America. It is also widely naturalized in Eurasia and Australia. Common names include horseweed, Canadian horseweed, Canadian fleabane, coltstail, marestail and butterweed. It was the first weed to have developed glyphosate resistance, reported in 2001 from Delaware. Horseweed originated in North America and is very widespread there, but has spread to inhabited areas of most of the temperate zone of Asia, Europe, and Australia. It is much the most common of the alien Conyza species in Britain, and is found from northern Scotland to Cornwall. It is the only one of the British Conyza species that grows as a weed of arable land: the others are casuals of waste and disturbed ground in towns and by roads and railways. It is not invasive of any natural or semi-natural habitats. Conyza canadensis is an annual plant growing to 1. 5 m (60 inches) tall, with sparsely hairy stems. The leaves are unstalked, slender, 2-10 cm long and up to 1 cm (0. 4 inches) across, with a coarsely toothed margin. They grow in an alternate spiral up the stem and the lower ones wither early. The flowers are produced in dense inflorescences 1 cm in diameter. Each individual flower has a ring of white or pale purple ray florets and a centre of yellow disc florets. The fruit is a cypsela tipped with dirty white down. Conyza canadensis can easily be confused with C. sumatrensis, which may grow to a height of 2 m, and the more hairy C. bonariensis which does not exceed 1 m (40 inches).

Erigeron coulteri is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names large mountain fleabane, Coulter's fleabane, and Coulter's daisy. Erigeron coulteri is native to much of the western United States where it grows in moist forests and meadows. It has been found in California, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, Oregon, and Idaho, though there are large stretches of land in between known populations.

Erigeron peregrinus is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names subalpine fleabane and wandering daisy. This wildflower is native to western North America from California to Colorado to Alaska, where it grows in mountain meadows and talus. It is a perennial daisy reaching anywhere from 10 to over 40 centimeters in height. It has hairless to hairy leaves reaching up to 20 centimeters long at the base of the branching stem. The flower cluster has many hairy hairs and one to four flower heads, each one to two centimeters wide. The head has a center of golden yellow disc florets and a fringe of up to 100 ray florets in shades of purple or white.

Erigeron lonchophyllus is an Asian and North American species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name shortray fleabane. Erigeron lonchophyllus is native to North America including most of Canada except the 4 Atlantic provinces, as well as the western and north-central United States. It occurs in many types of moist habitat and disturbed areas. It is also found in much of Asia (Siberia, Mongolia, Xinjiang, Kazakhstan, Iran).

Erigeron philadelphicus, the Philadelphia fleabane, is a widespread North American plant in the daisy family. Also known as common fleabane, daisy fleabane, frost-root, marsh fleabane, poor robin's plantain, skervish, and in the British Isles as robin's-plantain. It is native to North America and found there in nearly all of the United States and Canada. It is also introduced into Europe and Asia, considered an invasive weed in many places. Erigeron philadelphicus is a herbaceous plant with alternate, simple leaves, on hairy stems. The flower heads are borne in spring in arrays of as many as 35 heads. Each head may sometimes contain as many as 400 pink or white ray florets surrounding numerous yellow disc florets. The blooms are less than one inch (2. 5 cm) in diameter. The stem is hairy with rough hairs. The middle to lower leaves are heart shaped, and the plant is about 0. 5-2. 5 ft (15-76 cm) tall. Its active growth period is from spring to summer (April to July). This plant grows on roadsides, in fields, in thickets, and in open woods.

Eryngium aristulatum is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common names California eryngo and Jepson's button celery. This plant is native to California and Baja California where it grows in wet places, such as vernal pools and flooded meadows. This is a perennial herb with erect, rounded, naked stems, occasionally branching and reaching anywhere from 10 centimeters to nearly a meter in height. Leaves appear near the base and at nodes along the stem and are long and serrated to toothed. The flower cluster holds rounded flowers with five to eight long, straight, spiky leafs which often have spiny edges and may grow nearly 3 centimeters long. The flower contains white petals and white or purple styles. While this is an abundant species altogether, one variety (sometimes considered a subspecies), var. parishii, the San Diego button celery, is listed as an endangered species on both the California state and national levels.

Eryngium armatum is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name coastal eryngo. It is endemic to the coastline of the northern half of California, where it along beaches and coastal bluffs. This is a low perennial herb growing patches of thick green to yellow-green leaves, each long and straight, sometimes with serrated or toothed edges. Atop stout stems are inflorescences of spiky flower heads each nearly a centimeter wide. Each is surrounded by seven or eight long, sharp-pointed bracts about two centimeters long, and sometimes more layers of bractlets on top. The tiny white to purplish flowers are tucked between the layers of bracts.

Eryngium articulatum is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common names beethistle and jointed coyote thistle. This plant is native to the northwestern United States from California to Idaho, where it is a plant of marshes and riverbanks. This is a sturdy, branching perennial herb with rounded, naked stems reaching maximum heights over one meter. It has a few sparse sharply serrated leaves at nodes and branching points along its stem. Atop the stem is the rounded to egg-shaped flower head, which looks superficially like that of a thistle, mainly due to its spikiness and lavender color. It is fringed with up to 17 spiny, toothed, pointed bracts, each up to about two centimeters long. Each flower head is packed full of small lavender flowers.

Eryngium castrense is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name Great Valley eryngo, or Great Valley button celery. This plant is endemic to California, where it grows in wet areas such as vernal pools and ponds in the central part of the state. This is a heavily branched, spiny perennial herb reaching maximum heights of around half a meter. It produces light green to grayish green hairless stems with occasional lobed, oval-shaped leaves. At the tops of the stems are flower heads one to one and a half centimeters wide and rounded or egg-shaped. At the base of each head is an array of 7 to 9 spiny, pointed bracts up to three centimeters long, and sometimes a few smaller bractlets above. The rounded flower head contains many small white to light purple flowers.

Eryngium mathiasiae is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name Mathias' eryngo, or Mathias' button celery. It is endemic to the Modoc Plateau of northeastern California, where it grows in the vernal pools of the local river drainages, and other wet areas such as ditches. This is an erect perennial herb 30 to 40 centimeters tall. There is a basal rosette of long lance-shaped leaves, the blades up to 17 centimeters long and lined with sharp-pointed serrations or lobes, borne on petioles several centimeters in length. The inflorescence is an array of flower heads, each surrounded by sharp, spined bracts. The greenish flower heads bloom in small, white petals. The plant was named for American botanist Mildred E. Mathias.

Eryngium vaseyi is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name coyotethistle. It is endemic to California, where it is known from vernal pools and similar wet habitat in the Central Valley and certain areas of the Central Coast Ranges and southern California coast. This is a decumbent to upright perennial herb with spreading branches up to half a meter long. The lance-shaped to oblong leaves may be up to 24 centimeters long. The edges are deeply cut into narrow, sharp-pointed lobes. The inflorescence is an array of somewhat rounded flower heads surrounded by several narrow, pointed bracts with spiny edges. The head blooms in whitish petals.

Scarlet monkeyflower is a herbacious perennial in the lopseed family. It is an attractive plant which bears red or orange-red flowers and toothed, downy leaves. It is native to the southwestern United States and Baja California. It is typically found in wetlands or moist areas. It can take full sun but seems to do better with part shade. It is sometimes used as a garden plant for its blooms, which attract hummingbirds. It is a fairly large, spreading, attractive plant which bears strongly reflexed, nectar-rich red or orange-red flowers and toothed, downy leaves. It is native to the West Coast and Southwestern United States and Baja California, and is generally found at low elevation in moist areas. Occasional populations of yellow-flowered Erythranthe cardinalis (which lack anthocyanin pigments in their corollas) are found in the wild.

Erythranthe cardinalis is cultivated in the horticulture trade and widely available as an ornamental plant for traditional gardens; natural landscape, native plant, and habitat gardens; and various types of municipal, commercial, and agency sustainable landscape projects. Cultivars come in a range of colors between yellow and red, including the "Santa Cruz Island Gold" variety, originally collected from Santa Cruz Island off the coast of California.

Grows best in loamy, medium draining soil. Selected for the garden.

Grows best in loamy, medium draining soil. Selected for the garden.

Seep Monkey Flower (Erythranthe guttata syn. Mimulus guttatus) is a perennial wildflower in the Lopseed family (Phrymaceae). As the name suggests, it grows in moist stream banks and seeps. Often it will grow with its roots submerged, and the light green foliage and yellow flowers will float on the surface of the water. Its spreading root systems make it one of the best plants for filtering water in aquatic gardens, and its abundant yellow snapdragon-shaped flowers add spectacular color to a pond in winter and spring. Note that because it aggressively spreads and copiously self seeds, it may need to be periodically pulled or cut back to prevent it from crowding out other plants.

Seep Monkey Flower attracts bees, butterflies and moths. Useful in naturally wet landscapes, such as a moist alpine meadow, along any sort of waterway, and in serpentine soils.

Mimulus moschatus is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name muskflower. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to the Rocky Mountains, where it grows in moist, partially shaded habitat in mountains, woodlands, and other areas. It also occurs in eastern North America where it may be native or introduced. It is known from Chile and parts of Europe, including England and Finland, where it grows wild after having escaped This is a rhizomatous perennial herb which is hairless to hairy, sometimes slimy in texture, and generally musky in scent. It is variable in appearance. The prostrate or upright stem grows up to 30 centimeters long. The oppositely arranged leaves are mostly oval in shape and may reach 6 centimeters long. The tubular flower is yellow in color, its tube just a few millimeters wide and widening at the lobed mouth. It may be up to 2.6 centimeters long.

Erythronium revolutum is a species of flowering plant in the lily family which is known by several common names, including mahogany fawn lily, coast fawn lily, and pink fawn lily. This plant is native to the west coast of North America from northern California to British Columbia. It is most abundant within 100 miles of the coast, and it is found in moist places, such as streambanks, bogs, and wet forest understory. This wildflower grows from an oval-shaped bulb 3 to 5 centimeters long and produces usually two wide, flat, mottled green leaves near the ground. It sends up a long, naked stalk which bears one or two showy lily flowers. The stalk bows at the end so that the face of the flower points at the ground. There are six petals in shades of pink or light purple which may have yellow or white spotting toward the center of the flower. The petals may be straight or recurved so far that their tips meet behind the flower. The anthers are bright yellow. The fruit is a capsule up to 6 centimeters long.

Euthamia occidentalis, known by the common names Western Goldenrod and Western Goldentop, is a deciduous flowering perennial plant. It is native to most of the western states. It is most widespread in California, where it is primarily found at elevations below 5,000 feet, in damp ground along rivers and streams, irrigation ditches, meadows, tidal channels, fresh to brackish marshes, and other wetlands.



Western Goldentop is a spreading rhizomatous plant with thin, tall, and branched stems clad with long, narrow, gray-green leaves. It will usually grow from 4 to 6 feet tall, and can be used for erosion control and bank stabilization. It produces numerous small yellow flower heads that are united into loose, rounded blossom clusters at the ends of the branches. It blooms during late summer and autumn, attracting many bees and other pollinators.

Atriplex californica is a species of saltbush known by the common name California saltbush, or California orache. It is native to coastal California and Baja California, where it grows in areas with saline soils, such as beaches and salt marshes. This is a perennial herb growing from a fleshy caudex and taproot. Many stems spread to a maximum width of about 80 centimeters and 30 centimeters in height. The scaly gray-green leaves are lance-shaped to oval and less than 3 centimeters long. The plant may be monoecious or dioecious, with some plants having both male and female flower types, and others having just one. Both types of flower cluster are rough clusters of tiny flowers.

Red Fescue (Festuca rubra) is one of many species of Festuca native to California. It is a cool-season species of bunch grass (summer dormant) that is found worldwide and can tolerate many habitats and climates.

It is a nutritious and palatable forage grass for domestic and wild animals. It is used as a mow-able turfgrass and as a groundcover and can be left completely unmowed for a lush prairie-like look. It spreads by rhizomes. There are three recognized subspecies, and many cultivars have been bred.

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

Horticultural selection from Festuca rubra. This grass is beautiful with soft, blue-green leaves. It is fine-textured and the 'Molate Blue' selection is rather more tolerant of drought and sun than the other Red Fescue selections. It is a cool season grass and requires regular moisture for best appearance. It can be mowed and could be used as a cool season lawn alternative, also, because of its deep root system it is excellent for slope stabilization. 'Molate blue' was selected by David Amme from Point Molate in Contra Costa County.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Tolertates any sun exposure in coast sites, but requires part shade or shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Tolertates any sun exposure in coast sites, but requires part shade or shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Fimbristylis vahlii is a species of sedge known by the common name Vahl's fimbry. It is native to much of Central America and the southern half of North America, where it grows in wet habitat. This is a small, clumping sedge producing rounded stems just a few centimeters high surrounded by curling, thready leaves. At the top of the stem is an inflorescence which is a cluster of several cylindrical, pointed spikelets surrounded by long, narrow, twisting bracts. The fruit is a tiny achene about half a millimeter wide.