Cicuta douglasii (Western water hemlock) is a poisonous plant in the family Apiaceae. It is a perennial plant that grows in wet places such as marshes, stream banks, slough margins, ditches, meadows, and wet pastures. The roots of this plant are thick and tuberous, with many smaller tubers coming from the main tuber. This root structure allows the water hemlock to adapt and survive wet conditions. Water hemlock is most abundant in British Columbia, and is indigenous to North America. In North America it primarily grows from the base of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast, stretching all the way from Alaska down to California. Water necessities limit this plant from growing in open rangelands. The characteristics of water hemlock include its stem which is 0.5-2 meters tall with purplish spots, thick roots, and leaves that are compound pinnate and alternate. The leaflets are usually 5-8 centimeter long and 1-2 centimeter wide with jagged edges. The flowers on it are compound umbellate flower clusters with many small, white flowers. There are two seeds for each flower. Seed dispersal for water hemlock seeds comes from means of wind, water, machinery, on clothing, and through transported soil. The seeds germinate in spring, and flowers mature near the end of June and beginning of July. In addition to sprouting new plants from seeds, rootstocks can also product new plants. These are formed in the fall from the basal meristem, and when they detach the following spring, they may form a new plant.

Cirsium cymosum is a North American species of thistle known by the common name peregrine thistle. It is native to the western United States, where it has been found in California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. Cirsium cymosum is a biennial or perennial herb with a maximum height just 100 cm (39 in). It is coated in soft and coarse hairs and sometimes cobwebby fibers. The spiny leaves may reach 30 to 50 centimeters (12 to 20 inches) in length, especially toward the base of the stem. They are deeply cut into lobes which are lined with sharp teeth. The inflorescence is a cluster of flower heads each up to 3 centimeters long and 5 wide. The head is lined with sticky, spiny phyllaries and filled with dull white flowers. The fruit is an achene with a dark-colored body just under a centimeter long and a pappus of hairs up to 2. 5 centimetres (0. 98 inches) in length.

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

California thistle (Cirsium occidentale var. californicum), also known as cobweb thistle, is a biennial native to much of California and the western United States. In its first year, it forms a rosette of gray-green spiny leaves. In its second year, it sends up multibranched stems topped with clusters of lavender-pink to maroon-red flowers. The bracts are covered in distinctive cobwebby hairs, giving the plant its common name.

This variety is not invasive or weedy like some non-native thistles and is a great choice for wildlife gardens. It’s drought tolerant and does not require summer water once established. California thistle is a valuable nectar source, attracting native bees, bumble bees, and butterflies. It can be grown easily from seed without any special treatment.

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

Clarkia affinis is a species of wildflower known as chaparral clarkia. It is endemic to California, where it grows mainly on chaparral slopes and woodlands in the Coast Ranges. This is a spindly plant producing erect stems exceeding half a meter in height and sparse narrow leaves. The flower is a bowl-shaped bloom with four pink or red petals each 5 to 15 millimeters long. The petals may have darker spots near the base and purple or red speckling.

The whimsical name of this pretty, vibrantly-colored Clarkia comes from its late spring to early summer bloom time. It flowers in shades ranging from pink to purple. Farewell to Spring attracts bees and butterflies and is a favorite plant in native pollinator and cut-flower gardens.

A member of the Evening Primrose family, Farewell to Spring is a self-seeding annual that tolerates a wide range of soil conditions. It has low moisture needs and requires minimal watering once established.

Clarkia arcuata is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name hairy clarkia. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the chaparral and woodlands of the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range. It is an annual herb producing a slender, erect stem often exceeding half a meter in height. The leaves are narrow, usually linear or lance-shaped, and up to 6 centimeters long. The flower cluster bears a few flowers, which dangle when they are buds and grow erect as they open. The sepals stay fused as the petals open and emerge from one side. They are coated in hairy hairs. The petals are up to 3 centimeters long, pink-lavender in color, sometimes with a reddish blotch at the base. They form a bowl-shaped corolla. There are 8 stamens and a protruding, four-chambered ovary. The fruit is an elongated capsule which may reach 3.5 centimeters long.

Clarkia biloba is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name twolobe clarkia. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the Sierra Nevada foothills; one subspecies can also be found in the San Francisco Bay Area. It grows in chaparral and woodland habitat. It is an annual herb producing an erect stem approaching a meter in maximum height. The leaves are linear to lance-shaped and up to 6 centimeters long. Each is borne on a short petiole. The top of the erect stem is occupied by the flower cluster, which bears hanging buds above open flowers. The pink or red-purple sepals remain fused as the petals spread and emerge from one side of the bud. The petals are up to 2.5 centimeters long and pink to lavender to magenta, sometimes flecked with red. Each petal has a two-lobed tip. There are 8 stamens, some with large lavender anthers and some with smaller, paler anthers. The stigma protrudes past the stamens. There are three subspecies of this wildflower. The rarest, the Mariposa clarkia (ssp. australis), is known only from the Merced River drainage, in the Sierra foothills, where it is threatened by road maintenance and non-native plants.

Clarkia bottae is a species of annual wildflower in the Onagraceae (Primrose) family. It is know by several common names, including punchbowl godetia, Botta's Clarkia, Botta's Fairyfan, and Hill Clarkia. Other Clarkias are known as Farewell-to-Spring, and some sources may apply that name to this species as well. This plant is endemic to the coastal plains, foothills and mountains, usually below 3,000 ft., from Santa Clara County to San Diego County, where it is a member of several plant communities. It produces spindly, waxy stems which may approach a meter in height but more often less, and sparse narrow leaves. The flower is a bowl shaped bloom with lavender or pinkish-purple petals, often lighter in color toward the base and speckled with red, each 1 to 3 centimeters long. The stigma protrudes from the corolla and is surrounded by shorter stamens. It is readily grown from seed and reliably re-seeds as long as it is not crowded out.

Clarkia breweri is a species of wildflower known by the common names fairy fans and Brewer's clarkia. This rare plant is endemic to California, where it is known from only seven counties in the central part of the state. It produces produces short stems under 20 centimeters in height and sparse, narrow leaves. The distinctive flowers have four pink to lavender petals, each about 2 centimeters long and wide, with 3 odd lobes, the middle lobe being long and spoon-shaped. This flower occurs in the chaparral plant community or in woodlands.

Clarkia concinna is a species of wildflower in the Onagraceae (Evening Primrose) family known as Red Ribbons. It is endemic to California, where it can be found in the northern Coast Ranges from Santa Clara County to Humboldt County, and in the Sierra foothills. This is an annual plant with erect, herbaceous stems. The distinctive flowers have four looping sepals of red or dark pink which look like loops of silk ribbon. The longer, pink petals have three lobes which are usually streaked with white.

Red Ribbons (Clarkia concinna ssp. concinna) is a native annual herb that grows in central and northern California. It tends to grow at elevations from 0-4900 feet.

Clarkia cylindrica is species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name speckled fairyfan, or speckled clarkia. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the chaparral, woodlands and grassland of the coastal mountain ranges and Sierra Nevada foothills. This is an annual herb producing an erect stem to around half a meter in maximum height. Leaves are mainly linear in shape and up to six centimeters long. The flower cluster holds several flowers which hang heavily when they are buds and then grow erect as they open. Each open flower is a bowl of four fan-shaped petals up to about 3.5 centimeters long. The petals are intergrading shades of lavender, white, and magenta and they are often speckled with purple or pink. Beneath the petals are bright pink fused sepals. There are eight stamens with lavender anthers. The fruit is a cylindrical capsule up to 5 centimeters long.

Speckled Clarkia (Clarkia cylindrica ssp. cylindrica) is a native annual herb that grows in Southern and Central California, primarily in the South Coast Range, the South Coast and Transverse Range regions. It tends to grow in open grassy places, at elevations from 0-3300 feet.

Clarkia dudleyana is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name Dudley's clarkia. It is endemic to California, where it can be found in the mountains of the Transverse Ranges and the southern Sierra Nevada foothills. It grows in woodland, forest, and chaparral habitats under 1500 meters in elevation. This annual herb produces an erect stem sometimes exceeding half a meter in height. The leaves are lance-shaped, up to 7 centimeters long, and borne on short petioles. The top of the stem is occupied by the inflorescence, which has opening flowers below closed, hanging buds. As the flower blooms the pink to reddish-purple sepals remain fused, opening along one side only. The petals are up to 3 centimeters long, fan-shaped, pinkish lavender in color and sometimes flecked with red. There are 8 stamens, some of which have large lavender anthers and some that have smaller, paler anthers. The stigma protrudes farther than the stamens.

Clarkia epilobioides is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name canyon clarkia. It is native to California, Arizona, and Baja California, where it grows in shaded habitat in woodland and chaparral. It is an annual herb producing a slender, erect stem sometimes exceeding half a meter in height. The leaves are narrowly to widely lance-shaped and less than 3 centimeters long. The top of the stem is occupied by the inflorescence. Each hanging bud has four red sepals which remain fused all together or in pairs as the petals emerge during blooming. The petals are one half to one centimeter long, oval in shape, solid white or cream in color, often fading pink as they age. There are eight protruding stamens and one stigma.

Clarkia gracilis is a species of wildflower known by the common name slender clarkia. This plant is native to the US states of California, Oregon, and Washington, where it is found in coastal, foothill, valley, and low-elevation mountain habitats. The plant is variable across subspecies but is generally an erect slender stem with a few sparse, narrow leaves several centimeters long. It bears an flower cluster of drooping buds which open into bowl-shaped flowers with pinkish lavender petals 1 to 4 centimeters long and bearing a red or white splotch which can appear in the center or at the base of the petal, depending on the subspecies.

Whitestem Clarkia (Clarkia gracilis ssp. albicaulis) is a rare native annual herb that grows in Central and Northern California, primarily in the Cascade Range Foothills region. It tends to grow in open areas, at elevations from 0-4900 feet.

Clarkia heterandra is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name mountain clarkia. It is endemic to California, where it is from the forests and woodlands of several of eastern and western mountain ranges. It is an annual herb producing an erect, glandular stem to around half a meter in maximum height. The lance-shaped to oval leaves are up to 8 centimeters long and are borne on petioles of up to 2 centimeters. The top of the stem is occupied by the inflorescence, with open flowers and closed buds. The sepals remain fused as the flower blooms from one side. The pink petals are oval in shape and just a few millimeters long. There are 8 stamens, some large and some small and sterile. The fruit is a small, hard body 2 or 3 millimeters long containing 1 or 2 seeds.

Clarkia lewisii is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name Lewis' clarkia. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the hills and mountains of Monterey and San Benito Counties. It is an erect annual herb generally under half a meter in height. The lance-shaped leaves are a few centimeters long. The flower cluster bears opening flowers and closed, hanging flower buds. As the bud opens the pink or purple sepals stay fused as the petals bloom from one side. The fan-shaped petals are up to 3 centimeters long, pink to lavender with white and red coloration near the bases. There are 8 stamens and a protruding stigma.

Clarkia modesta is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name Waltham Creek clarkia. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the woodlands of several of the central mountain ranges, including the North and Central Coast Ranges and the Sierra Nevada foothills. It is an erect annual herb often exceeding half a meter in height. The oval, linear, or lance-shaped leaves are 2 to 4 centimeters long. The inflorescence bears opening flowers and closed, hanging flower buds. The sepals remain fused as the petals bloom from one side. The petals are about a centimeter long and vary in shape from diamond to widely lance-shaped. They are pale to deep pink and generally dark-flecked or spotted.

Clarkia purpurea is a species of wildflower in the Onagraceae (Evening Primrose) family known by the common names Winecup Clarkia, Winecup Fairyfan, and Purple Clarkia. This plant is native to western North America where it is found in a variety of habitats. Within California it is very widespread, occurring all along the coast, in the Coast Ranges, Central Valley and Sierra foothills. There are three subspecies with differences in the flower color and with overlapping ranges. This plant erects a thin reddish stem which may approach a meter in height and has a few lance-shaped leaves. The bowl-shaped flowers have four petals usually one to two centimeters long and in shades of pink, purple, or deep wine red, often with a streak or spot of pink or red in the middle. In the garden it is almost always grown from seed and is included in many commercially available wildflower seed mixes.

Clarkia rhomboidea is a species of wildflower known by the common names diamond clarkia and forest clarkia. This plant is native to western North America, where it is a common resident of varied forest and woodland habitats. This clarkia grows a spindly stem not exceeding a meter in height and occasional small leaves. The flower has four petals which are bright pink to lavender and often speckled with darker pink shades. The petals are diamond-shaped to spoon-shaped and one to one and a half centimeters long. There are eight stamens, each holding a large anther bearing blue-gray pollen.

Clarkia similis is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name Ramona clarkia. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the coastal hills and mountains of the southwestern part of the state. It is an annual herb growing erect, approaching a meter in maximum height. The inflorescence bears open flowers and closed, hanging flower buds. The sepals remain fused as the petals bloom from one side. The petals are less than a centimeter long and oval to diamond in shape. They are pale pink with white near the bases, and sometimes purple-speckled.

Clarkia speciosa is a species of flowering plant in the Onagraceae (Evening Primrose) family known by the common name Red Spotted Clarkia. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the Central Coast and mountains and from the Sierra Nevada foothills. The plant is variable across its intergrading subspecies, taking a decumbent to erect form with a stem up to about half a meter long. The open or dense flower cluster has opening flowers and several closed buds. As the bud opens the sepals all separate from each other. The fan-shaped petals are up to 2.5 centimeters long and may be lavender to pink to deep red, sometimes fading to white or yellowish at the base. There is sometimes, but not always, a large bright red spot near the middle of the petal. There are four subspecies of this plant. One, ssp. immaculata (also sometimes called var. immaculata), is known as the Pismo clarkia and is federally listed as an endangered species. It is known from about 20 occurrences on the coastline of San Luis Obispo County near Pismo Beach. This subspecies takes a decumbent form and the petals lack the red spot.

Pismo Clarkia (Clarkia speciosa ssp. immaculata) is a rare native annual herb that grows in Central California, primarily in the Central Coast region. It tends to grow in sandy hills, at elevations from 0-2300 feet.

Elegant clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata) is an annual wildflower in the Evening-Primrose family (Onagraceae). It is endemic (limited) to California, but is often sold in wildflower seed mixes throughout the country. Elegant clarkia has tall, thin stems, narrow leaves, and four spade-shaped petals in various shades of pink. Butterflies, moths, and bees are attracted to its flowers. It blooms in summer, when many wildflowers are finished for the year.

Another popular name is woodland clarkia, and its natural habitat is indeed open woodlands. It usually is found growing in oak woodlands or mixed evergreen forest, with native grasses and other wildflowers that appreciate part shade. Sow seeds in fall and let the rain do the rest. Allow to self-sow in fall before cutting back dead stocks. Grow this clarkia in the middle or back of a flower bed where its tall, whimsical flowers make a charming backdrop. Or create a mini-meadow under an oak tree with native bunchgrasses, wild onion, white globe lily, and purple chinese houses.

Clarkia williamsonii is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name Fort Miller clarkia. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the forests and woodlands of the northern and central Sierra Nevada foothills. This is an erect annual herb with linear to lance-shaped leaves each a few centimeters long. The flower cluster produces opening flowers and buds which are closed except for the tips, where the sepals do not fuse. The sepals all separate or remain fused in pairs as the flower blooms. Each fan-shaped petal is up to 3 centimeters long and is usually lavender with a white area and a purple spot in the middle. The petals are occasionally solid deep red.

Clarkia xantiana is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name gunsight clarkia. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the southern Sierra Nevada and its foothills and the adjacent Transverse Ranges. This is an erect annual herb with linear to lance-shaped leaves each up to 6 centimeters long. The inflorescence produces opening flowers and closed buds. The sepals stay fused as the petals bloom from one side. Each petal is up to 2 centimeters long and generally light to medium purple in color, sometimes with a dark, ringed spot on the petals of the upper whorl. The petal has a narrow claw and a wider blade which has two lobes at the tip with a small tooth between.

Claytonia exigua is a species of wildflower in the purslane family known by the common names serpentine springbeauty and pale claytonia. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Idaho to California, where it grows in a number of habitat types, including plant communities on serpentine soils. Claytonia exigua is a fleshy annual herb producing a patch of erect or leaning stems up to about 15 centimeters tall. The thick leaves are linear in shape and fingerlike near the base of the plant and crescent to disc-shaped farther up the stem. The plant is hairless and waxy and varies in color from green to pinkish, grayish, or brownish. The inflorescence holds several flowers on drooping pedicels which turn erect as the plant develops fruit. The flower has five lobed petals each a few millimeters long and in shades of pink, white, or pink-streaked white. The fruit is a capsule less than three millimeters long containing a few tiny seeds.

Claytonia gypsophiloides is a species of wildflower in the purslane family known by the common names gypsum springbeauty and Coast Range claytonia. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the Coast Ranges from the North Coast Ranges to the Temblor Range. It can usually be found in moist areas with rocky soils, often serpentine. It is an annual herb producing an erect stem 15 to 25 centimeters in maximum height. The fleshy basal leaves are linear in shape and up to 15 centimeters long. The pair leaves at midpoint on the stem vary in shape. They may be linear and separate, fused along one side, or completely fused into a disc surrounding the stem. The leaves are gray-green, beige, or pinkish in color. The stalked inflorescence is up to 15 centimeters long and bears up to 30 flowers. Each has 5 pink and white petals which are oval-shaped with a notched tip.

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

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

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

Virgin's bower (Clematis ligusticifolia) is a climbing, spreading vine with showy flowers. It is also known as Old-man's Beard and Yerba de Chiva, and Virgin's bower (though this may also refer to C. lasiantha). It is native to North America and widespread across the western United States in streamside thickets, wooded hillsides, and coniferous forests up to 4,000 feet. It was called "pepper vine" by early travelers and pioneers of the American Old West. 

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

Clinopodium chandleri is a rare native perennial herb in the Lamiaceae (Mint) family that grows in Southern California and northern Baja, primarily in the Peninsular Range region. It tends to grow in rocky slopes, at elevations of 1,700-2,300 feet. It was formerly classified in the genus Satureja, and some sources still refer to it by that name. It is a low-growing, fragrant, spreading herb that prefers regular water and some shade. It is well suited for containers. Although it is native to mountain areas, it can be grown near the coast.

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

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

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

Collinsia childii is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name Child's blue-eyed Mary. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada and the Southern Inner and Outer California Coast Range. It grows in woodland and shady forest habitat. Collinsia childii is an annual herb producing an erect, branching stem up to about 35 centimeters tall coated in glandular hairs. The leaves are oblong, flat, and sometimes slightly toothed. The hairy gland-covered inflorescence bears flowers on erect pedicels, with several emerging from the leaf axils at interrupted nodes. Each flower has two upper lobes and three lower lobes and is pale lavender in color. The flower is under a centimeter long.

Purple Chinese Houses (Collinsia heterophylla) is a low annual (12 to 18 inches high) that flowers March through June. The flowers are gentle tones of lilac, lavender, purple or blue, usually with a white upper lip and arranged in towers of flower clusters that are thought to resemble a pagoda. They are impressive when massed and fit well with ferns and other wildflowers in chaparral, Coastal Sage Scrub, or Oak Woodland landscaping.

Seed can be sown in fall in an area cleared of weeds. The plant will typically reseed itself each year. It is adaptable to different types of soil but needs a moist place in part shade, part sun. In gardens it needs water weekly.

Hosting caterpillars of butterflies and moths, Purple Chinese Houses will also attract bees and benefit birds.

Purple Chinese Houses (Collinsia heterophylla var. heterophylla) is a native annual herb that grows in southern and central California. It tends to grow at elevations from 0-5000 feet.

Collinsia sparsiflora is a flowering plant in the Plantaginaceae known by the common names spinster's blue-eyed Mary and few-flowered collinsia. One variety of the species is native to the West Coast of the United States as far north as Washington, while the other three varieties are limited to California alone. The plant grows in several types of habitat, including disturbed and cultivated areas. It has a weak affinity for serpentine soils, growing from sea-level to 5000'.

Collinsia tinctoria is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common names sticky Chinese houses and tincture plant. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the woodlands and forests of the mountain ranges of the central and northern regions of the state. It is an annual herb producing a sturdy erect stem up to about 60 centimeters tall. The oppositely arranged leaves are triangular lance-shaped, sometimes toothed, and hairy on the undersides. The flower cluster is a series of widely spaced dense whorls of flowers, each whorl a crowded ring of flowers held on erect pedicels. The flower has five elongated sepals with rounded tips, the corolla angling sharply down from the mouth of the calyx. The corolla may be any of several colors from white to yellow to deep lavender and may be mottled or speckled and tinted in the throat. The flower cluster and some flower parts are hairy and hairy.

Collomia grandiflora is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common names grand collomia and large-flowered mountain trumpet. This annual herb is native to western North America. It is also cultivated as an ornamental. The plant produces an erect, hairy or fuzzy stem which may be red to green in color. Arranged at wide intervals along the stem are long, lance-shaped leaves, the lowermost sometimes toothed along the edges. Atop the stem is an flower cluster of several flowers in white to yellow or orange. Each tubular, flat-faced flower is 2 or 3 centimeters wide with 5 curving, light-colored petals and stamens tipped with anthers which bear blue pollen. The fruit is a capsule containing sticky seeds.

Collomia heterophylla is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name variableleaf collomia. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Idaho to central California, where it grows in several types of habitat, including open areas on gravelly mountain slopes. It is a hairy annual herb producing a branching, erect stem. As the common name suggests, the leaves are variable in shape, the lower generally with several toothed lobes and the upper sometimes lacking lobes. The inflorescence is a cluster of flowers emerging from the top of the stem or from the axil of a leaf. It may bear up to 25 flowers, each with star-shaped corolla at the tip of an elongated tube. The corolla lobes are lance-shaped and white to deep pink with white bases.

Comarum palustre (syn. Potentilla palustris), known by the common names purple marshlocks, swamp cinquefoil and marsh cinquefoil, is a common waterside shrub. It has a circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, particularly the northern regions. It is most commonly found on lake shores, marshy riversides and stream margins, often partly submerged with foliage floating. It is a parent of some Fragaria, Comarum hybrids, ornamental plants produced by crossing with strawberries. Its branches spread into leaves with three to seven narrow leaflets which are sharply jagged. The stem is a reddish brown, low sprawling, vine-like structure. Flowers extend from the branch which vary from red to purple, and are about one inch in diameter, blooming in summer. Swamp cinquefoil prefers peat soils but can also grow in moist sandy areas. It flourishes in USDA Zone 3 (minimum-40 degreesF (-40 degreesC)). It grows to about 12-18 in (30-46 cm) wide by 12-18 in (30-46 cm) high when cultivated properly.

Cordylanthus pilosus is a species of flowering plant in the broomrape family known by the common name hairy bird's beak. It is endemic to the mountain ranges and foothills of northern California, where it grows in woodland and chaparral habitat, often on serpentine soils. There are three subspecies, each mainly limited to a different section of mountains. In general this annual herb is erect and branching, reaching a maximum height anywhere between 20 centimeters and 1.2 meters. It is purple-tinted gray-green in color and usually quite hairy in texture, the hairs sometimes associated with sticky glands. The branches have sparse tufts of small linear leaves. The flowers of the flower cluster have leafs which may be linear in shape or lobed, each lobe knobby or notched. The flower is up to 2 centimeters long and has a whitish pouch marked with yellow and purple enclosed in hairy sepals.

Hairy Bird's Beak (Cordylanthus pilosus ssp. pilosus) is a native annual herb that grows in Central and Northern California, primarily in the North Coast and North Coast Range regions. It tends to grow in open slopes, at elevations from 0-2300 feet.

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