Spice bush (Calycanthus occidentalis) is a deciduous shrub with bright green leaves and unusual  lotus-shaped red flowers that can resemble a small magnolia flower. The flowers are strongly scented, with a wine-like fragrance, and appear from late spring through early autumn. Sap beetles pollinate the flowers. The bark also has a strong smell, like camphor,  that is released when the stems are scraped. 

Left alone, it will become a large, rounded shrub 3 to 13 feet tall and 3 to 12 feet wide.  Trimmed, it can become a multi-trunked small tree. Part-shade is ideal for this plant but it tolerates full sun with lots of moisture in somewhat cooler areas. It accepts full shade but will grow more slowly with a more open habit. It is adaptable to different types of soil, and is somewhat deer resistant. 

Cistanthe monandra (formerly Calyptridium monandrum) is a species of flowering plant in the purslane family known by the common name Common Pussypaws. It is native to the southwestern United States and adjacent Baja California, where it grows in sandy areas such as deserts and coastal and mountain scrub habitats. This is a fleshy, flat annual herb producing short stems which extend along the ground or spread upright from a small taproot. Thick, spoon-shaped leaves occur in a basal rosette at the base of the stem, reaching up to about 5 centimeter in length. There are smaller leaves along the stems. Small flower clusters sprout from the stem bearing many flowers, each with fleshy, triangular sepals and three pink or red petals only a few millimeters long. The fruit is a translucent, oblong capsule up to six millimeters long containing several shiny, black seeds.

Cistanthe rosea (formerly Calyptridium roseum) is a species of flowering plant in the purslane family commonly known as rosy pussypaws. It is native to the western United States from California to Wyoming, where it grows in forest and scrub. It is an annual herb, often reddish or pink in color, producing stems just a few centimeters long. The leaves are located in a rosette at the base and along the stems, and are up to 4 or 5 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a tiny cluster of white-edged thin sepals and two white petals, each no more than a millimeter long.

Calystegia longipes is a species of morning glory known by the common name Paiute false bindweed. It is native to the southwestern United States from California to Utah, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a woody perennial herb growing into a bushy form up to a meter tall, with many spreading and erect, twining branches. The small leaves are linear to narrowly lance-shaped and sometimes have small lobes divided from the sides. The inflorescence is a solitary flower on a long peduncle up to 20 centimeters in length. The morning glory flower at the end is a white to pale lavender or pinkish bloom 2 or 3 centimeters wide.

Calystegia malacophylla is a species of morning glory known by the common name Sierra false bindweed. It is endemic to California, where it grows in several of the mountain ranges, including the Central Coast Ranges and the Sierra Nevada. This is a rhizomatous perennial herb with a woolly stem growing to lengths of 10 centimeters to nearly a meter. It generally does not climb as do many other morning glories. The leaves are vaguely kidney-shaped to triangular and pointed, and reach a few centimeters in length. The foliage is covered in a short coat of woolly white hairs, giving the plant a light greenish gray color. The flower cluster holds a solitary white flower which is sometimes tinted with pink or yellow. The flower is 2 to 4 centimeters wide when open.

Calystegia occidentalis is a species of morning glory known by the common name chaparral false bindweed. It is native to California and Oregon, where it grows in hilly and mountain habitat, such as woodland and chaparral slopes. It is a woody perennial herb producing spreading or twisting and climbing branches, usually quite hairy in texture. The small leaves are up to 4 centimeters long and lobed into various spade or arrowhead shapes. The flower cluster is one to four flowers atop a single peduncle, each bloom 2 to 5 centimeters wide and white to cream to yellow in color.

Calystegia subacaulis is a species of morning glory known by the common name hillside false bindweed. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the North and Central California Coast Ranges and the San Francisco Bay Area, in woodland and chaparral scrub habitat. Calystegia subacaulis is a hairy perennial herb growing from a woody caudex or a rhizome and extending stems no longer than about 20 centimeters. The leaves are 3 or 4 centimeters long and triangular or arrowhead shaped with small side lobes. The inflorescence produces morning glory flowers atop short peduncles. Each flower is 3 to 6 centimeters wide and white or cream in color, often tinted with light purple.

Camissonia lacustris is a species of evening primrose known by the common name grassland suncup. It is endemic to California, where it grows on the grasslands of the Sierra Nevada foothills. It is also known from an area in the Northern Coast Ranges in Lake County. This is an annual herb producing an erect or spreading, sometimes bending or twisting, hairy stem approaching half a meter in maximum length. The leaves grow along the stem and are less than 4 centimeters long and linear or narrowly oval in shape. The nodding inflorescence produces flowers with yellow petals about half a centimeter in length. The petals sometimes have two red dots at their bases. The fruit is a straight wavy capsule which may be several centimeters long.

Camissonia pubens is a species of evening primrose known by the common name hairy suncup. It is native to the desert and steppe of western Nevada and eastern California. It is an annual herb covered in glandular hairs generally made up of one or more erect, slender stems up to a third of a meter tall. The leaves are up to about 4 centimeters long and are lance-shaped with wavy, toothed edges. The nodding inflorescence produces flowers with yellow petals each a few millimeters long and sometimes dotted with red near the bases. The fruit is a straight or coiling capsule up to 5 centimeters long.

Camissonia bistorta is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common names southern suncup and California suncup. It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in several types of plant community along the coast and in the coastal hills and mountain ranges. This is a hairy annual or perennial herb spreading from a basal rosette with stems reaching up to 80 centimeters long. Leaves are lance-shaped to narrowly arrowhead-shaped and sometimes toothed, and 1 to 12 centimeters in length. Toward the end of the spreading stems are nodding flower clusters of flowers, each flower with four bright yellow petals dotted with red at their bases. At the center are stamens and a protruding, nearly spherical stigma. The fruit is a straight or slightly coiled capsule up to 4 centimeters long.

Cardamine californica (Milkmaids) (also Dentaria californica) is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native to western North America from Washington to California and Baja California. It is common in a variety of habitats including shady slopes, open woodlands, chaparral and grasslands in the winter and early spring. In the San Francisco Bay Area, it is one of the first wildflowers to bloom, with blossoms from January to May. Cardamine californica is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to about 1 foot tall. The flowers are produced on a spike, each flower about 1/2 inch in diameter with four white petals. The flower closes its petals in late afternoon as the sun goes down and nods its pedicel before a rain, protecting the pollen. Hand pollination of two milkmaids populations in the San Francisco Presidio improved seed set from 8% to 85%, with seeds ripening in about 53 days.

Carex alma is a species of sedge known by the common name sturdy sedge. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in moist spots in a number of habitat types. This sedge forms a thick clump of thin stems up to 90 centimeters in length and long, thready leaves. The leaves have basal sheaths with conspicuous red coloration, often spotting. The inflorescence is a dense to open cluster of many spikelets occurring both at the ends of stems and at nodes. Each cluster is up to 15 centimeters long and 1 to 2 wide. The plant is sometimes dioecious, with an individual sedge bearing either male or female flowers. The female, pistillate flowers have white or white-edged bracts. The male, staminate flowers have visible anthers 2 millimeters long or longer. The fruit is coated in a sac called a perigynium which is gold to dark brown in color and has a characteristic bit of spongy tissue at the base.

Carex angustata is a species of sedge known by the common name widefruit sedge. It is native to the western United States from Washington and Idaho to California, where it grows in wet meadows and on streambanks. This sedge grows from a large rhizome network and does not form clumps as many other sedges do. The stems reach up to about a meter in maximum height with narrow, rough leaves. The flower cluster produces a few pistillate spikes and one or two staminate spikes, each a few centimeters long. The pistillate flowers have dark colored leafs. The fruit is covered in a sac called a perigynium which is 2 or 3 millimeters long, veined and bumpy, and generally green or pale brown in color, sometimes with red or purple spotting.

Carex athrostachya is a species of sedge known by the common name slenderbeak sedge. It is native to western North America, including Alaska to central Canada, the western contiguous United States, and just into Baja California. It grows in wet and seasonally wet areas, such as wetlands and meadows. It produces dense clumps of stems up to 80 centimeters tall. The flower cluster is a dense green to brown cluster one or two centimeters long.

Carex barbarae is a species in the Cyperaceae (Sedge) family known by the common names Valley Sedge and Santa Barbara Sedge. Despite its common name it is not limited to the Santa Barbara area and is native to a large part of California and Oregon, where it grows in wet and seasonally wet habitat, such as meadows and riverbanks. This sedge produces angled, hairless stems up to one meter tall or slightly taller. The tough leaves are narrow with shredding, red-spotted or purple basal sheaths. The flower cluster produces erect and drooping spikes up to about 8 centimeters long with an associated long leaf which exceeds the length of the spikes. The fruits are covered in a sac called a perigynium which is light to dark brown and sometimes red-spotted, leathery and tough, and sometimes with a toothed, hairy tip. The plant rarely matures into a fruiting stage, however, with most individuals remaining sterile. Parts of this sedge are used in basketry and as sewing fiber by California Native American groups such as the Maidu and Pomo. Use caution in deciding where to use this plant because it can be an aggressive spreader wherever there is moisture. Its tendency to spread can be controlled by planting in a container. It is useful on the margin of a pond or in a bioswale.

Dense Sedge (Carex densa) is a native grass that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in wet places, at elevations from 0-4800 feet.

Carex douglasii is a species of sedge known by the common name Douglas' sedge. It is native to much of western North America, including the western Canadian provinces, the western United States, and Baja California. It grows in dry, wet, and seasonally moist habitat, from prairie and grassland to marshes. It is tolerant of sandy and alkaline substrates. This sedge produces triangular stems up to about 40 centimeters high from thin rhizomes. The leaves are thick but narrow and sometimes rolled. The plant is dioecious, with male and female flowers occurring on different individuals. The pistillate flower cluster is distinctive, with female flowers bearing long, protruding, persistent stigmas that tangle together into a wide mass.

Greensheath Sedge (Carex feta) is a native grass that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in moist meadows and streambanks, at elevations from 100-7800 feet.

Round Fruit Sedge (Carex globosa) is a native grass that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in well drained soils in wooded places, at elevations from 0-4300 feet.

Carex hassei is a species of sedge known by the common name salt sedge. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Baja California to New Mexico, where it grows in moist places, such as meadows. This sedge, Carex hassei, is similar to the Golden sedge, Carex aurea, and has sometimes been treated as part of that species. It produces stems up to about 40 centimeters tall, or sometimes taller. The inflorescence has a long, leaflike bract that is longer than the spikes. The flowers have reddish-brown, white-tipped scales and the fruit is coated in a perigynium which is fleshy, bumpy, and light in color. This sedge, Carex hassei, is similar to the Golden sedge, Carex aurea, and has sometimes been treated as part of that species. It produces stems up to about 40 centimeters tall, or sometimes taller. The inflorescence has a long, leaflike bract that is longer than the spikes. The flowers have reddish-brown, white-tipped scales and the fruit is coated in a perigynium which is fleshy, bumpy, and light in color.

Kellogg's Sedge (Carex lenticularis var. lipocarpa) is a native grass that grows in northern, southern and central California. It is moderately fast growing and long-lived. It grows in an upright form to a height of 3 feet, with active growth during the spring and summer. Flowers are green and bloom in the late spring. Leaves are medium green and deciduous. It tends to grow in wet places, at elevations from 1000-11200 feet.

Carex ovalis is a species of sedge known by the common name eggleaf sedge. It is native to Eurasia and eastern and western North America, where it grows in seasonally wet habitat, such as meadows and fields. This sedge produces many thin stems and narrow leaves. The flower cluster is an open cluster of several flower spikes. The pistillate flower has a reddish or brownish leaf with a gold center and white tip.

Carex nebrascensis is a species of sedge known by the common name Nebraska sedge. It is native to the western and central United States and into central Canada, where it grows in wetlands. It tolerates alkaline soils and submersion for long periods of time. This sedge produces upright, angled, spongy stems up to about 90 centimeters tall. The waxy, bluish leaves form tufts around the base of each stem. The root system is a very dense network of rhizomes. The flower cluster includes a few narrow staminate spikes above some wider pistillate spikes on short peduncles. The fruit is covered in a tough, slightly inflated sac called a perigynium which sometimes has a pattern of red spotting. Uses for this sedge include forage for livestock and wild animals, wetland restoration, control of erosion and soil compaction, and natural wetland wastewater treatment.

Carex nudata is a species in the Cyperaceae (Sedge) family known by several common names, including Torrent Sedge, California Black-flowering Sedge, Dudley's Sedge, and Naked Sedge. This is a bright green sedge which grows in mounds below the high-water mark in marshes and on river banks. It bears long scaly spikes of black, dark reddish or dusky brown flowers, which begin erect and then droop when they become heavy. It grows amidst rocks and becomes a dense mounding tussock. It is found mainly in California and Oregon.

Swamp Carex (Carex senta) is a native grass that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in streambanks, marshy places and meadows, at elevations from 200-9500 feet.

Two Tooth Sedge (Carex serratodens) is a native grass that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in moist places, at elevations from 100-6000 feet.

Carex simulata is a species of sedge known by the common name analogue sedge. It is native to the western United States and western Canada, where it grows in many types of wet habitat, from mountain meadows to ditches, often in alkaline conditions. This sedge produces sharply triangular stems up to 80 centimeters tall from a long, coarse, dark brown rhizome. The flower cluster is dense and rounded to open and long, containing several flower spikes. The plant is generally dioecious, with individual plants bearing male or female flowers, but not both. The male, staminate flower cluster is usually longer and more narrow than the oval-shaped female, pistillate spike. Female flowers bear fruits which are coated in dark brown, shiny, pointed perigynia.

A species of sedge known by the common name San Diego sedge. It is native to the southwestern United States and far northern Mexico, where it grows in wet places, sometimes on serpentine soils. This sedge looks somewhat like a cattail. It produces angled stems easily exceeding a meter in height surrounded by leathery grey-green to reddish-green leaves (if drought stressed) up to about 1.2 meters long. The flower cluster is up to 80 centimeters long, with many long reddish brown flower spikes, each holding up to 300 developing fruits.

This is a easy and fast growing plant for full sun and heavy, moist soils. In even part shade, it tends to get weedy and unattractive. Needs plenty of water, so best to grow this in a sunny spot along a creek, seep or other naturally moist area, or in a regularly irrigated area.

Awlfruit Sedge (Carex stipata) is a native grass that grows in Central and Northern California, primarily in the High Sierra Nevada region. It is slow growing and moderately long-lived. It grows in an upright form to a height of 3.5 feet, with active growth during the spring and summer. Flowers are green and bloom in the mid spring. Leaves are medium green and deciduous. It tends to grow in wet places, at elevations from 100-5700 feet.

Rusty Slender Sedge (Carex subfusca) is a native grass that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in moist, open places, at elevations from 0-3000 feet. Like other wetland plants it will spread to fill any moist area. It will become deciduous in summer dryness.

Grows best in loamy, medium draining soil. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade or shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Tompkins's Sedge (Carex tompkinsii) is a rare native grass that grows in Central and Northern California, primarily in the Sierra Nevada Foothills and High Sierra Nevada regions. It tends to grow in open places, at elevations from 3900-5900 feet.

The Bush Anemone (Carpenteria californica), an attractive evergreen shrub, is a rare California native plant and closely related to the Mock Orange (Philadelphus lewisii). It has abundant bright white and yellow flowers bloom in late spring and early summer. The blooms have a pleasant fragrance and are attractive to bees and butterflies. The narrow leaves are dark green and glossy.

Bush Anemone is easy to grow and adapts to a variety of soil types, as long as the soil iswell-draining. It grows in full sun or part shade and tolerates low to moderate moisture. Pruning the stems after flowering improves this shrub's appearance. Unruly plants can be cut back to ground level (coppiced) to produce new growth from the stump. Nurseries often sell this plant's popular 'Elizabeth' cultivar.

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.

Castilleja applegatei is a species of Castilleja known by the common names Applegate's Indian paintbrush and wavyleaf Indian paintbrush. It is native to the western United States. It is a short perennial with sticky, wavy-edged leaves. It bears bright, showy paintbrush-shaped flower clusters of small red to yellowish-red tubular flowers.

Wavyleaf Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja applegatei ssp. martinii) is a native perennial herb that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in dry open places, at elevations from 1000-9200 feet.

Castilleja attenuata is a species of Indian paintbrush, known by the common names valley tassels and attenuate Indian paintbrush. It is native to western North America from British Columbia, through California, to Baja California, where it grows in grasslands and open woodland habitats. Castilleja attenuata is an annual herb growing up to about 50 centimeters tall. The leaves are linear in shape and several centimeters long. The inflorescence has three-lobed bracts with yellow or white tips. Between the bracts emerge fuzzy white flowers dotted with purple and yellow.

Castilleja campestris is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name vernal pool Indian paintbrush. It is native to California and southern Oregon, where it grows in seasonally moist habitat, especially vernal pools. It is an annual herb growing 10 to 30 centimeters tall with linear or narrowly lance-shaped leaves up to 4 centimeters long. The inflorescence is up to 15 centimeters long. It is filled with leaflike green bracts which are generally not tipped with another color. The flower is yellow or orange. It is an annual herb growing 10 to 30 centimeters tall with linear or narrowly lance-shaped leaves up to 4 centimeters long. The inflorescence is up to 15 centimeters long. It is filled with leaflike green bracts which are generally not tipped with another color. The flower is yellow or orange. Subspecies. There are two subspecies of this plant. The rare Castilleja campestris subspecies succulenta, the succulent owl's clover or fleshy Indian paintbrush, is endemic to California and limited to the San Joaquin Valley of California and adjacent lower Sierra Nevada foothills, where its vernal pool habitat has been largely eliminated for human activity such as agriculture and development.

Castilleja angustifolia is a species of wildflower known by the common names northwestern paintbrush and desert Indian paintbrush. It is an herbaceous perennial native to the desert scrub and woodlands of western North America. This Indian paintbrush is under half a meter in height and has bristly gray-green to purple-red herbage. It stands in a clump of erect stems, each topped with an flower cluster of somewhat tubular flowers in bright red to orange-red, sometimes tinted with purple, and usually fuzzy with a thin coat of white hairs. The centimeter-long capsule fruits contain honeycomb-patterned seeds. This plant can be red orange or yellow in color.

Castilleja densiflora is a herbaceous flowering plant species known by the common name denseflower Indian paintbrush. Like other members of the Indian paintbrushs it is a root-parasite. It is native to California and northern Baja California, where it grows in grassland and chaparral habitat. It is a variable species. It is generally 10 to 40 centimeters tall with linear or lance-shaped leaves up to 8 centimeters long, and with or without lobes. The inflorescence is as small as 3 centimeters or as long as 25 centimeters in length, and has bracts tipped in white to dull or bright pink or purple. Between the bracts appear the flowers, which are somewhat rounded and pouched, and white to yellow to pink or purple in color.

Purple owl's clover (Castilleja exserta) is an annual in the same species as the Indian paintbrushes. It was formerly included in the genus Orthocarpus, and some sources may still refer to it by that name. Although this species is variable in appearance and easily hybridizes with other Castilleja, it generally bears shaggy pink-purple or lavender flower clusters that resemble clover (though they are not related). The thin, erect leaves are usually tipped with the same color, giving the flower cluster the appearance of a paintbrush. It produces pods containing seeds.

The plant's showy appearance when in flower makes it a great fit for informal meadows and related landscapes. Like other related plants in the family, purple owl's clover derives some of its nutrients directly from the roots of other plants. Therefore, it is almost always planted, or grown from seed, with a perennial species from its natural plant community to serve as the host plant, such as a native grass. It takes full sun, prefers fast-draining soil but is tolerant of sand and clay. It does not need summer water.

The flowers attract bees and butterflies. It is a crucial host plant for the Bay Checkerspot butterfly, a threatened species in California, and hosts a likely total of 12 species of butterfly and moth.

Castilleja foliolosa is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common names woolly Indian paintbrush and Texas Indian paintbrush. It is native to California and northern Baja California, where it grows in coastal sage scrub, chaparral and rocky desert and mountain slopes. Despite its common name, it does not occur in Texas. It is a parasitic or semi-parasitic plant on a variety of small shrubs such as Chamise, Golden Yarrow or Sagebrush. This perennial wildflower grows up to 60 centimeters tall and is coated in woolly white or gray branching hairs. The leaves are linear in shape and up to 5 centimeters long. The flower cluster is made up of layers of leaves tipped in bright orange-red to dull yellowish green. Between the colorful leaves appear the nondescript flowers, which are greenish in color and pouch-shaped. The fruit is a capsule just over a centimeter long.

Castilleja lacera is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name cutleaf Indian paintbrush. It is native to California and southern Oregon, where it grows in grassy mountain and foothill habitat. This is an annual herb coated in glandular hairs and growing up to about 40 centimeters tall. It has linear and lance-shaped leaves up to 5 centimeters long. The inflorescence is made up of hairy green bracts and bright yellow pouched flowers.

Castilleja linariifolia is a perennial plant, native to the United States and is the state flower of Wyoming. It has a number of common names including Wyoming Indian paintbrush, Narrow-leaved Indian paintbrush, desert paintbrush, Wyoming desert paintbrush, Wyoming paintbrush, linaria-leaved Indian Paintbrush, and Indian paint brush. It grows up to 1 meter in height and has linear leaves which are between 20 and 80 millimeter in length and have up to 3 lobes. The flowers, which consist of a red to yellow calyx and yellow-green floral tube, appear in panicles or spikes between June and September in its native range.

Heckard's Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja montigena) is a rare native perennial herb that grows in southern California.