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

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

Hieracium argutum is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name southern hawkweed. It is endemic to California, where it can be found in coastal and inland hills and mountains, often in oak woodland and pine forest habitat. Hieracium argutum is a perennial herb producing a mostly erect stem which is very hairy on the lower part and becomes nearly hairless toward the tip. The plant grows 60 centimeters to one meter tall. The deeply toothed leaves are covered in long hairs. The largest leaves at the base of the stem may reach 16 centimeters. There may be shorter leaves on the lower part of the stem and there are few or none on the upper part. The inflorescence is a wide open array of many flower heads, each up to about a centimeter wide. The flower head is lined with hairy, often glandular phyllaries and filled with many yellow ray florets and no disc florets. The fruit is a small, dark cylindrical achene topped with a pappus of brown bristles.

Pleuraphis jamesii (syn. Hilaria jamesii) is a species of grass known by the common name James' galleta. It is native to the southwestern United States, where it is widespread in scrub, woodland, grassland, and plateau habitat. It is tolerant of arid environments such as desert floors. It is a rhizomatous perennial grass producing bunches of erect stems approximately one millimeter wide and up to about 60 centimeters in maximum height. The woody rhizome is shallow, spreading just under the soil surface, but it may reach 6 feet in length and when dense helps the grass form a sod. The flower cluster is a series of hairy, rectangular spikelets. The grass produces relatively little viable seed and spreads mostly via its rhizome.

Hippuris vulgaris, known as mare's-tail or common mare's tail, is a common aquatic plant of Eurasia and North America ranging from Greenland to the Tibetan Plateau to Arizona. It prefers non-acidic waters. The species is also sometimes called horsetail, a name which is better reserved to the horsetails of genus Equisetum. These are unrelated to H. vulgaris, although there is some resemblance in appearance. The common mare's tail is a creeping, perennial herb, found in shallow waters and mud flats. It roots underwater, but most of its leaves are above the water surface. The leaves occur in whorls of 6-12; those above water are 0. 5 to 2. 5 cm long and up to 3 mm wide, whereas those under water are thinner and limper, and longer than those above water, especially in deeper streams. The stems are solid and unbranched but often curve, and can be up to 60 cm long. In shallow water they project 20-30 cm out of the water. It grows from stout rhizomes. The flowers are inconspicuous, and not all plants produce them. Studies of H. vulgaris in the Tibetan Plateau have shown that it is a prolific methane emitter. H. vulgaris's roots extend into the anoxic zone of wetland soils and create a conduit for methane produced in the anoxic zone to travel to the atmosphere. Uses. In herbal medicine, mare's tail has a number of uses, chiefly to do with healing wounds, e. g. stopping internal and external bleeding, curing stomach ulcers, and soothing inflammation of the skin. It can also be a troublesome weed, obstructing the flow of water in rivers and ditches.

Hoita macrostachya is a species of legume known by the common name large leatherroot. It is native to California and Baja California where it can be found in moist areas of a number of habitat types. This is a hairy, hairy perennial herb producing a tall, branching stem approaching two meters in maximum height. The sparse, widely spaced leaves are each made up of three leaflets up to 10 centimeters long each attached to a long petiole. The leaflet blades are hairy. The plant produces many clublike raceme flower clusters on sturdy stalks from the stem. The flower cluster contains many purplish pealike flowers. The fruit is a hairy, veiny brown legume pod under a centimeter long containing a kidney-shaped seed.

Hoita orbicularis is a species of legume known by the common name roundleaf leatherroot. It is endemic to California, where it is relatively widespread throughout the state's mountain ranges, growing most often in moist habitat. It is a perennial herb growing prostrate or nearly so at ground level with large leaves each made up of three round leaflets up to 11 centimeters long each. The herbage is hairy and often hairy. The flower cluster is an erect raceme which may be up to 35 centimeters long. Each of the many flowers is one or two centimeters long, pealike, and generally a shade of light to medium purple in color. The fruit is a hairy, veiny legume pod just under a centimeter long.

Holocarpha heermannii is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Heermann's tarweed. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the hills, mountains, and valleys of the central part of the state. It is most common in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area and the southern end of the Sierra Nevada foothills. This is an annual herb growing mostly erect from 20 centimeters to over one meter in height. The stem is densely hairy and coated in short and long hairs. The leaves are up to 10 centimeters long near the base of the plant and those along the stem are smaller. The flower cluster is a spreading array of branches bearing clusters of flower heads. Each flower head is lined with phyllaries which are coated in large bulbous resin glands. They are hairy and sticky in texture. The head contains many yellow disc florets surrounded by three to 10 golden yellow ray florets. The ray and fertile disc florets produce achenes of different shapes.

Holocarpha obconica, commonly known as the San Joaquin tarweed, is a North American plant species in the sunflower family. It is endemic to (found only in) California, primarily in the Central Valley and adjacent regions. The epithet "obconica" means "obconical," in other words, shaped like a cone but with the widest part farthest from the base. Achenes of H. obconica are obconical. The plant is a resin-containing herb up to 120 cm (4 feet) tall. It peroduces numerous flower heads, each head containing 4-9 yellow ray flowers surrounding 11-21 small yellow disc flowers, the disc flowers having yellow or brown anthers.

Holocarpha virgata is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name yellowflower tarweed. It is endemic to California, where it is most common in the Central Valley and adjacent foothills to the east and west. There is also a disjunct population near San Diego. This is an annual herb producing an erect stem 20 centimeters to over one meter tall. It has many branches and is lined with oily glands and hairs. The linear leaves are up to 15 centimeters long near the base of the plant and those along the stem are much smaller. The flower cluster is made up of several short branches lined densely in small, thick, green leafs. The leafs are just a few millimeters long and are tipped with glands. At the ends of the branches are flower heads, each lined with phyllaries which are covered in knobby resin glands. The head contains many disc florets which are yellow with black or purplish anthers. The head has a fringe of several yellow ray florets which often have lobed tips.

Holozonia is a North American genus of flowering plants in the daisy family. It contains only one known species Holozonia filipes, which is known by the common name whitecrown. It is endemic to (found only in) California. Holozonia filipes is a scraggly rhizomatous perennial herb growing a hairy, glandular, branching stem 30 centimeters (1 foot) to 1. 5 meters (5 feet) long. The lower stem is gray-green and the upper stem branches are green to red in color. The lance-shaped leaves are up to 10 centimeters (4 inches) long and covered in resin glands. They are arranged oppositely on the lower part of the stem. The flower heads appear at the ends of the stem branches in a loose inflorescence. Each head has layers of sticky, hairy phyllaries. The ray florets are each divided into long lobes and are white in color. The disc florets are white with large purple anthers.

Hordeum brachyantherum is a species of barley known by the common name meadow barley. It is native to western North America from Alaska to northern Mexico, far eastern Russia, and parts of eastern North America. It can be found in other parts of the world as an introduced species. This is a tufting perennial grass approaching a meter in maximum height. It produces compact, narrow flower clusters 8 to 10 centimeters long and purplish in color. Like other barleys the spikelets come in triplets. It has two small, often sterile lateral spikelets on pedicels and a larger, fertile central spikelet lacking a pedicel.

Meadow Barley (Hordeum brachyantherum ssp. brachyantherum) is a native grass that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in meadows, pastures and streambanks, at elevations from 0-11200 feet.

California Meadow Barley (Hordeum brachyantherum ssp. californicum) is a native grass that grows in northern, southern and central California. It is fast growing and short-lived. It grows in an upright form to a height of 1.6 feet, with active growth during the spring. Flowers are yellow and bloom in the mid spring. Leaves are medium green and deciduous. It tends to grow in meadows, pastures and streambanks, at elevations from 0-8500 feet.

Horkelia cuneata is a species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common name wedgeleaf horkelia. It is endemic to California, where it grows in coastal chaparral communities and sandy areas. This is a matting or clumping perennial herb producing erect green or red stems up to 70 centimeters tall. The fernlike green leaves are up to 30 centimeters long and are made up of toothed, oval-shaped leaflets each one or two centimeters long. The foliage and stems are often quite hairy. The flower cluster holds several flowers, each with narrow, pointed leaflets and wider, reflexed sepals. The sepals and five white petals may be tinted with bright pink. The center of the flower holds ten stamens and up to 60 small pistils.

Horkelia truncata is a species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common name Ramona horkelia. It is native to the Peninsular Ranges of southern California and northern Baja California, where it grows in the chaparral. This is a clumpy perennial herb forming tufts of erect leaves and stems. The leaves are up to 13 centimeters long and are made up of large oval-shaped leaflets with toothed edges and squared-off, toothed tips. The terminal leaflet of the leaf is sometimes untoothed. The thin stem is 20 to 60 centimeters tall and holds an flower cluster of several flowers. Each flower has short sepals beneath five round white petals. The center of the flower contains a ring of stamens around a patch of up to 80 thready pistils.

Big Deervetch (Lotus crassifolius var. crassifolius) is a native perennial herb that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow at elevations from 1000-6900 feet.

Hydrocotyle ranunculoides, known commonly as water pennywort or floating pennywort is an aquatic plant in the Apiaceae. It is native to North and South America and parts of Africa. In the UK it is an invasive alien species which is currently spreading in waterways in England and Wales. It is also a weed in Australia. On the other hand, it is a threatened species in parts of its native range in the United States.

Hydrophyllum occidentale is a species of flowering plant in the waterleaf family known by the common name western waterleaf. It is native to the western United States from California to Idaho, where it grows in a variety of habitats from wet mountain meadows to dry chaparral slopes. This is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing a patch of leaves, most of which are made up of many pairs of oval-shaped, bluntly lobed green leaflets. These compound leaves may be up to 40 centimeters long. The plant produces erect stems branching into green to reddish-purple rough-haired, leafless peduncles bearing flower clusters. The flower cluster is a large ball of densely packed flowers. Each flower is up to a centimeter wide and bright white to lavender. It is coated in downy white hairs and has a long protruding style and usually five stamens with large purple or red anthers. The fruit is a spherical capsule containing two seeds.

Hymenopappus filifolius is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names fineleaf hymenopappus and Columbia cutleaf. It is native to western North America from west central Canada to northern Mexico. It grows in a number of habitats, often in arid regions. The plant is variable in appearance and there are a great number of varieties of the species. It is a taprooted perennial herb growing as a small clump on the ground to an erect spray of stems up to a meter tall. Almost all of the leaves are located at the base of the plant in a woolly gray-green patch. They are up to 20 centimeters long and are divided into blunt, thready leaflets. They are hairy and thinly hairy to quite woolly, and dark green under the coat of white wool. The stem ends in a branching flower cluster of knob-shaped discoid flower heads. They are filled with golden yellow or white disc florets. There are no ray florets.

Hymenoxys cooperi is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name Cooper's rubberweed. It is native to the southwestern United States and Great Basin, where it grows in rocky soils in arid regions from southern California to New Mexico, north as far as Idaho and Oregon. Hymenoxys cooperi is a biennial or perennial herb with a branching stem growing erect to heights between 15 and 90 centimeters (6-36 inches or 0. 5-3. 0 feet). It produces narrow, pointed leaves with two lateral lobes that form a trident shape. The foliage and stem are glandular and waxy, usually with a thin coat of light-colored hairs. The daisy-like flower head is a cup of fused phyllaries with 30-150 tiny yellow-orange disc florets surrounded by 9-14 bright yellow ray florets, each ray about a centimeter (0. 4 inches) long.

Hypericum anagalloides is a species of St. John's wort known by the common names creeping St. John's-wort, tinker's penny and bog St. John's-wort. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California and Nevada, where it grows in wet areas such as mountain meadows and streambanks. This is a stoloniferous annual or perennial herb forming lush green patches on the ground. The stems lie across the ground or rise erect somewhat at the ends and grow to about 25 centimeters in maximum length; they are often much shorter and form a carpetlike mat. Each round or oval gland-dotted green leaf is 4 to 15 millimeters long. The flowers grow singly or clustered together. Each has five oval-shaped petals which are usually golden yellow, and up to 25 yellow- or white-anthered stamens.

Iliamna bakeri is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common names Baker's globe mallow and Baker's wild hollyhock. It is native to northern California and southern Oregon, where it grows in mountain forests and woodland on volcanic soils. This is a perennial herb with a densely hairy stem growing from a woody caudex to heights between 30 and 70 centimeters. It produces rough-haired, three-pointed leaves on thick petioles, each one to five centimeters long. It blooms in abundant cup-shaped pink-lavender flowers with five petals each 1 to 3 centimeters long. The fruit is a small, bristly capsule. This species is endangered on the state level in Oregon. Threats to its existence include wildland fire suppression and forest habitat destruction by human activity such as logging.

Ionactis alpina (formerly Aster scopulorum; common name Lava Ankle-aster) is a species of aster known by the common name lava aster. It is native to western United States from California to Montana, where it grows in dry areas. Ionactis alpina is a perennial herb growing from a caudex and fibrous root system. It produces a short, mostly erect, hairy stem up to 12 centimeters (4. 8 inches) in height. Most of the small leaves are on the lower part of the stem. They are up to about a centimeter (0. 4 inches) long, oval to lance-shaped and pointed, somewhat stiff and coated in hairs. Ionactis alpina is a perennial herb growing from a caudex and fibrous root system. It produces a short, mostly erect, hairy stem up to 12 centimeters (4. 8 inches) in height. Most of the small leaves are on the lower part of the stem. They are up to about a centimeter (0. 4 inches) long, oval to lance-shaped and pointed, somewhat stiff and coated in hairs. The inflorescence bears solitary flower heads with purple-green phyllaries, 7-21 thin blue, purple, or occasionally white ray florets surrounding 19-50 long yellow disc florets. The fruit is a hairy achene.

Ipomopsis aggregata is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family, Polemoniaceae. Its common names include scarlet gilia, scarlet trumpet, and skyrocket. It is native to western North America, growing mainly in the central to western regions and ranging from as far north as British Columbia to Mexico. It has characteristic red, trumpet-shaped flowers and basal leaves stemming from a single erect stem. There are many subspecies.

Bridge's Gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata ssp. bridgesii) is a native perennial herb that grows in Central and Northern California, primarily in the High Sierra Nevada region. It tends to grow in open places, at elevations from 6200-10800 feet.

Ipomopsis congesta is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name ballhead ipomopsis. It is native to much of western North America where it grows in many habitats from alpine peaks to low-elevation scrub. This is a perennial herb which varies in appearance, especially across subspecies and climates. It may take the form of a squat patch with stems under 10 centimeters in height or a more erect form up to 30 centimeters tall. The stems are often hairy to woolly. The thick leaves are usually fork-shaped with a number of clawlike lobes and 1 to 4 centimeters long. The flowers appear in a rounded, dense cluster atop the stem. Each flower is bell-shaped to funnel-shaped and white with a pale yellow throat and protruding yellow or white stamens. There are several subspecies, many of which were formerly considered species of Gilia.

Ipomopsis polycladon is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name manybranched ipomopsis. It is native to much of the western United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in sandy soils such as those of the deserts. This is an annual herb producing a number of horizontal red stems extending outward from the short central stem. Leaves appear at the ends and axils of branches. Each leaf is multilobed, and mostly green but often red-tipped, and less than 2 centimeters long. Stems and leaves are covered with woolly glandular hairs. The long stem branches bear inflorescences of leaflike bracts which are green with sharp-pointed red tips, and tiny white flowers a few millimeters across.

Ipomopsis tenuifolia is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name slenderleaf skyrocket, or slenderleaf ipomopsis. It is native to Baja California with its range extending just into California and Arizona, where it is a plant of the deserts and chaparral. This is a perennial herb taking the form of a neat clump of slender, erect multibranched stems reaching a maximum height near 40 centimeters. The leaves are narrow to threadlike and occur all along the stem branches. The flower clusters appear at or near the tips of the branches and each holds one to seven bright scarlet flowers. Each flower is a tube 1 to 2 centimeters long opening into a flat or bell-shaped corolla with squared or toothed lobes. The five stamens and one style protrude far out of the mouth of the flower. The stamens have white to purple anthers and the style has three whitish stigmas.

Tuolumne Iris (Iris hartwegii ssp. columbiana) is a native perennial herb that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in slopes, at elevations from 2000-7500 feet.

Iris macrosiphon (Long Tubed Iris) is a flowering plant in the Iridaceae (Iris) family, endemic to California in the Cascade Range Foothills, north and central Sierra Nevada Foothills, Inner North Coast Ranges, and San Francisco Bay Area, where it occurs in sunny grasslands, meadows, and open woodlands. The typical iris leaves are very slender, arching, strap-like, 2.5-5 millimeter wide, and blue-green in color. The flower is highly variable, from golden yellow to cream or pale lavender to deep blue-purple, generally with darker veins. In the wild it is usually found in clumps of the same general color. The flower stems are usually short (less than 25 centimeter) when in the sun and bear 2 flowers. It blooms in spring. It may go deciduous if subjected to summer heat or dryness.

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 by Wintergreen Nursery.

Iris tenuissima is a species of iris known by the common name longtube iris. It is endemic to California, where it is a common wildflower in the woodlands of the northern part of the state. This rhizomatous perennial herb produces narrow leaves and an erect flower cluster bearing two iris flowers. The flower has a long tubular throat which may exceed 5 centimeters in length before it opens into white, purple, or reddish-brown streaked petals.

Slender Tubed Iris (Iris tenuissima ssp. purdyiformis) is a common native perennial herb that grows in northern California. It tends to grow in dry open places, at elevations from 300-6600 feet.

Longtube Iris (Iris tenuissima ssp. tenuissima) is a common native perennial herb that grows in northern California. It tends to grow in dry open places, at elevations from 300-6600 feet.

Satan's Goldenbush (Isocoma menziesii var. diabolica) is a rare native shrub that grows in central California. It grows on dry slopes, as well as in moister places such as creek sides and dry washes, at elevations from approximately 400 - 3000 feet.

Ivesia aperta is a species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common name Sierra Valley mousetail. It is native to the High Sierra Nevada and Modoc Plateau of California and Nevada, where it grows in dry meadows on volcanic soils.

Ivesia saxosa is a species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common name rock mousetail, or rock ivesia. It is native to the mountains and deserts of central and southern California and northern Baja California, where it grows in cracks and crevices in rock faces and slopes. This is a clumpy perennial herb with hanging leaves and stems. Each leaf is a flat strip or cluster of rounded, lobed leaflets. The green to reddish stem is up to 30 centimeters long and bears an inflorescence of clustered flowers. Each flower is almost a centimeter wide and has hairy pointed sepals and smaller rounded to spoon-shaped yellow petals. In the center of the flower are up to 40 stamens and many pistils. The fruit is a tiny pale achene.

Jamesia is a genus of shrubs in the Hydrangeaceae, most commonly known as Jamesia, cliffbush or waxflower. It is native to interior western North America, in the U. S. states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, growing in mountains at 1600-3000 m altitude. There is just one species, Jamesia americana, though some botanists[who?] treat it as two species, the second being J. tetrapetala (fourpetal cliffbush, with the narrow sense J. americana then known as fivepetal cliffbush).

Jensia rammii is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Ramm's madia. It is endemic to California, where it is limited to the northern slopes of the Sierra Nevada and its foothills. Jensia rammii is an annual herb with a hairy, glandular, branching stem up to 60 centimeters (2 feet) tall. The inflorescence produces flower heads on long peduncles. The head has 5-12 yellow ray florets up to a centimeter (0. 4 inches) long with lobed tips. The 16-65 yellow disc florets at the center have black anthers. The fruit is an achene a few millimeters long.

Jepsonia parryi is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family known by the common names coast jepsonia and Parry's jepsonia. It is native to the coast and inland hills chaparral of southern California and Baja California. Jepsonia parryi is a small perennial herb producing usually only a single leaf from an unbranched caudex. The leaf is round or kidney-shaped and has a ruffled, lobed edge. The plant flowers in fall, producing a naked brown peduncle holding a small inflorescence of fewer than four flowers. The tiny flower has purplish-veined petals each about half a centimeter long. The fruit is a brown-striped green or tan capsule.

Southern California black walnut (Juglans californica) is a deciduous tree or shrub-like tree with multiple trunks. It has large, divided leaves and thick bark that is deeply furrowed when the tree is mature. This tree is now endangered in large parts of the southern portion of its natural range, due to development. 

The nuts are edible but hard to remove from the shell so these trees are not planted for agricultural use.  However, birds eat the nuts and like to nest in the branches.  

This hardy tree tolerates heat, smog, and drought and is great on slopes.  It does best in moist areas and can handle garden watering.  Toxins in walnut seeds will typically prevent other plants from growing under the tree, so don't try to put understory plants too close.

Juncus balticus is a species of rush known by the common name Baltic rush. It is native to a large part of North and South America. In California it is very widespread and occurs in every county. It is a plant of wetlands and other mesic places, though sometimes found in non-wetland areas. It prefers freshwater but can handle some salinity. It spreads by a rhizome and will occupy any suitably moist area. It will hybridize with many other Juncus species. There is one recognized subspecies at this time, ssp. ater, which also occurs over a large part of the state.

Soft rush (Juncus effusus) is a member of the Juncaceae (Rush) family found growing in wet areas, as indicated by the common name. It is very widespread and native to most continents; for this reason there are a number of native and non-native subspecies and varieties, and numerous synonyms. It grows in large clumps about 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall at the water's edge along streams, ditches and ponds and can be invasive anywhere with moist soil. It is commonly found growing in humus-rich areas such as marshes, ditches, fens, and beaver dams. It can be useful around ornamental ponds and bioswales. It is very easy to grow, and is great native alternative to photinia and raphiolepis.

Horticultural selection from Juncus effusus.

Juncus kelloggii is a species of rush known by the common name Kellogg's dwarf rush. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California, where it grows in low, wet spots in meadows and other grassy areas, for example, vernal pools. Juncus kelloggii is a tiny annual herb forming small, dense clumps of hairlike reddish stems no more than a few centimeters tall. The stems are surrounded by a few thready leaves. The inflorescence is a cluster of approximately three flowers atop the small stems. Each flower is made up of a few reddish segments just 2 or 3 millimeters long curved around the developing fruit.

Juncus mexicanus (Mexican Rush) is native to the southwestern quadrant of the United States and parts of Mexico and Central and South America. It is a plant of moist areas in a great number of habitats, from coast to desert to mountain and from sea level to 10,000 ft. It may be found in standing water or saturated soil. This is a rhizomatous perennial herb which varies in appearance. The thin erect stems reach a maximum height anywhere from 10 to 80 centimeters. The leaves grow from the base of the stem and can exceed 20 centimeters in length. The flower cluster usually sprouts from the side of the stem rather than the tip. The flowers grow on long peduncles. Each individual flower has thick petals with longitudinal stripes which vary in color from bright to dark. It has six stamens with very large anthers, and long stigmas. This species is sometimes treated as a variant of Juncus arcticus or Juncus balticus.

Juncus rugulosus is a species of rush known by the common name wrinkled rush. It is endemic to California, where it is a common member of the flora in many wet areas, such as marshes and riverbanks. This is a perennial herb growing in thick tufts from a horizontal rhizome. The stem is erect and green and has a distinctive wrinkled, rippled surface. It reaches a maximum height near 70 centimeters. There are few leaves, those growing at the base lacking blades and appearing as sheaths around the stem, and those further up the stem having cylindrical blades. The flower cluster is open, with spreading branches holding many small clusters of a few flowers each. There are small, clear leafs. Each flower has reddish or brownish green petals with thin, transparent margins, and bristles at the tip. There are six stamens. The fruit is a red or brown capsule which is larger than the flower in which it grows.

Juncus tenuis, the slender rush, is a clump-forming, round-stemmed perennial in the Juncaceae (rush family). Slender rush grows to be between 15 and 60 cm tall. Generally considered a weed, it is rarely sold by retailers as a household container plant. Where it is introduced, it is colloquially called path rush, field rush, slender yard rush, poverty rush or wiregrass. The leaves of the plant all come from the base and are not nearly as tall as the stems. The stems are partly covered by sheaths, and have the most distinctive characteristic of the plant on them: clusters or cymes at the top. These cymes consist of branches that have small egg-shaped seed capsules at the end of them. The seeds split into three parts when they become ripe. The plant also spreads via rhizomous root growth. Slender rush grows in landscapes, crops, roadsides, and all types of fields. It can grow on both wet and dry sites, in soils consisting mainly of sand or clay. Because of its high tolerance of compacted soils, it can outcompete other plant species in such places, hence the name "path rush". It is native throughout all fifty states of USA, most of Canada, and parts of northern Europe.

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

Juncus torreyi is a species of rush known by the common name Torrey's rush. It is native to North America, where it is widespread. It can be found in many habitats across the southern half of Canada, coast to coast in the United States, and throughout northern Mexico. This is a perennial herb growing from rhizomes with associated tiny tubers. The smooth stems vary in maximum height from 30 centimeters to around a meter. The leaves are green to pink or red and up to 30 centimeters long. The flower clusters have many dense, rounded clusters of up to 100 flowers each. The flower has narrow, pointed greenish, tan, or reddish petals and six stamens. The fruit is a pointed brown capsule.

Juncus uncialis is a species of rush known by the common names twelfth rush and inch-high rush. It is native to the western United States, where it is known from wet habitat such as vernal pools. This is a petite annual herb forming dense clumps of hair-thin green stems no more than 3 or 4 centimeters high. The inflorescence is made up of a single tiny flower atop each stem. The flower has several reddish segments about 2 to 5 millimeters long wrapped around the developing fruit.

Juncus xiphioides is a species of rush known by the common name irisleaf rush. It is native to the southwestern United States and Baja California where it grows in wet areas in many habitat types. This is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing erect stems to a maximum height between about 40 and 80 centimeters. It has wide leaf blades for a rush, often exceeding one centimeter in width at the base. The few straw-colored leaves reach up to 40 centimeters in length. The large flower cluster has many clusters of up to 70 flowers each. The flower has very narrow green, red, or yellow-brown, lance-shaped petals and six stamens with very small anthers. The fruit is a brown oblong capsule.

Juniperus californica (California Juniper) is a species in the Cupressaceae (Cypress) family native to southwestern North America; as the name implies, it is mainly found in California, but also extends through most of Baja California, and a short distance into southern Nevada and western Arizona. It grows at moderate altitudes of 750-1,600 meter. It is a shrub or small tree reaching 3-8 meter (rarely to 10 meter) tall. It is much branched from the base. The shoots are fairly thick compared to most junipers, 1.5-2 millimeter diameter. The leaves are arranged in opposite decussate pairs or whorls of three; the adult leaves are scale-like, 1-2 millimeter long (to 5 millimeter on lead shoots) and 1-1.5 millimeter broad. The juvenile leaves (on young seedlings only) are needle-like, 5-10 millimeter long. The cones are berry-like, 7-13 millimeter in diameter, blue-brown with a whitish waxy bloom, and contain a single seed (rarely two or three); they are mature in about 8-9 months. The male cones are 2-4 millimeter long, and shed their pollen in early spring. It is largely dioecious producing cones of only one sex, but around 2% of plants are monoecious, with both sexes on the same plant. The bark is typically thin and appears to be "shredded." In the garden this plant is tolerant of many soils and requires minimal water once established. It becomes wider than tall so give it plenty of room.

Juniperus occidentalis (Western Juniper and Sierra Juniper) is a shrub or tree in the Cupressaceae family native to the western United States, growing in mountains at altitudes of 800-3,000 meter (rarely down to 100 meter). The shoots are of moderate thickness among junipers, 1-1.6 millimeter diameter. The leaves are arranged in opposite decussate pairs or whorls of three; the adult leaves are scale-like, 1-2 millimeter long (to 5 millimeter on lead shoots) and 1-1.5 millimeter broad. The juvenile leaves (on young seedlings only) are needle-like, 5-10 millimeter long. The cones are berry-like, 5-10 millimeter in diameter, blue-brown with a whitish waxy bloom, and contain one to three seeds; they are mature in about 18 months. The male cones are 2-4 millimeter long, and shed their pollen in early spring. Western Juniper is slow growing; large trees are very old. In the garden it should be treated as a shrub.

Juniperus osteosperma (Utah Juniper; syn. J. utahensis) is a shrub or small tree reaching 3-6 meter (rarely to 9 meter) tall. It is native to the southwestern United States, in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, western New Mexico, western Colorado, Wyoming, southern Montana, southern Idaho and eastern California. It grows at moderate altitudes of 1,300-2,600 meter, on dry soils, often together with Pinus monophylla. The shoots are fairly thick compared to most junipers, 1.5-2 millimeter diameter. The leaves are arranged in opposite decussate pairs or whorls of three; the adult leaves are scale-like, 1-2 millimeter long (to 5 millimeter on lead shoots) and 1-1.5 millimeter broad. The juvenile leaves (on young seedlings only) are needle-like, 5-10 millimeter long. The cones are berry-like, 8-13 millimeter in diameter, blue-brown with a whitish waxy bloom, and contain a single seed (rarely two); they are mature in about 18 months. The male cones are 2-4 millimeter long, and shed their pollen in early spring. It is largely monoecious with both sexes on the same plant, but around 10% of plants are dioecious, producing cones of only one sex.

Keckiella antirrhinoides (formerly Penstemon antirrhinoides) is a species of flowering shrub in the plantain family known by the common names snapdragon penstemon and chaparral beardtongue. It is native to the chaparral, deserts, and pinyon-juniper woodlands of California, Arizona, and adjacent Baja California. This shrub grows one half to two and a half meters tall, with spreading branches. The oppositely-arranged leaves are up to 2 centimeters long and are lance-shaped or narrow ovals. They are deciduous during dry periods. The plant produces branchlike flower clusters which bear snapdragon-like flowers. Each hairy flower is about 2 centimeters wide, with three lower lobes which lie flat or curve down and two upper lobes which join to form a curved lip. Inside the flower are shiny filamentous stamens holding anthers and a flat, densely hairy sterile stamen called a staminode. The flowers are light yellow and dry to nearly black. The plant will often drop many leaves after flowering.