Senecio hydrophiloides is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names tall groundsel and sweet marsh ragwort. It is native to western North America from British Columbia and Alberta to northern California to Utah, where it grows in wet meadows and similar habitat. It is a biennial or perennial herb producing a single erect stem or a cluster of a few stems which may exceed one meter in maximum height. The plants are green to red in color and usually without hairs, but new growth can be woolly. The leaves are lance-shaped to oval with toothed edges, the blades up to 25 centimeters long and borne on long winged petioles. The leaves are firm and sometimes a bit fleshy. The inflorescence is a loose or dense cluster of up to 30 or more flower heads lined with black-tipped phyllaries. They contain many yellowish disc florets at the center and often have some yellow ray florets, though these are sometimes absent.

Senecio hydrophilus is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names water ragwort and alkali-marsh ragwort. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where it grows in swampy places such as marshes. It can grow in standing water, including alkaline and salty water. It is a biennial or perennial herb producing a single erect stem or a cluster of a few stems which may exceed one meter in maximum height, at times approaching two meters. The stem is hollow, waxy in texture, and often pale green in color, and it emerges from a small caudex. The thick leaves are lance-shaped to oval with smooth or toothed edges, the blades up to 20 centimeters long and borne on petioles. Smaller leaves occur farther up the stem. The inflorescence is one or more large, spreading clusters of many flower heads. They contain many yellowish disc florets at the center and sometimes have small yellow ray florets as well.

Senecio integerrimus is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names lambstongue ragwort and tall western groundsel. It is native to western and central North America, where it grows in grassland, forest, and other habitat. It is a biennial or perennial herb producing a single erect stem 20 to 70 centimeters tall from a caudex with a fleshy root. The linear to lance-shaped or triangular leaves have blades up to 25 centimeters long. The herbage is slightly hairy to woolly or cobwebby. The inflorescence bears several flower heads in a cluster, the middle, terminal head often largest and held on a shorter peduncle, making the cluster look flat. The heads contain many disc florets and usually 8 or 13 ray florets which may be yellow to cream to white in color. Some heads lack ray florets.

Senecio lyonii is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name island senecio. This island endemic is known only from Guadalupe Island off the coast of Baja California and two of the Channel Islands of California, Catalina and San Clemente Islands. It grows in the coastal sage scrub and chaparral of the islands' hills and canyons. It is a shrub or subshrub growing from a woody taproot and reaching top heights well over one meter. The leaves have blades up to 12 centimeters long which are divided deeply into many narrow lobes. The inflorescence is made up of many clusters of flower heads. Each head has narrow phyllaries usually tipped with black, yellow disc florets and a fringe of yellow ray florets each about a centimeter long.

Senecio mohavensis is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Mojave ragwort. It is native to the deserts of the American southwest around the intersection of California and Nevada with Arizona, its distribution extending across the border into northern Mexico. It grows in sandy and rocky habitat. It is an annual herb producing a single branching erect stem up to 30 or 40 centimeters in maximum height from a twisted taproot. It is mostly hairless and green to purple in color. The leaves have lobed or toothed blades a few centimeters long, the lower on short petioles and those higher on the plant with wide bases that clasp the stem. The inflorescence is a spreading array of several flower heads filled with yellow disc florets. Some heads have tiny ray florets that may be tucked out of view within the phyllaries.

Senecio pattersonensis is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names Mono ragwort and Mount Patterson senecio. It is known only from a small stretch of mountain peaks straddling the border between Mono County, California, and Mineral County, Nevada, in the western United States. It grows in rocky high mountain habitat in an alpine climate, such as talus and fellfields. It is named for Mount Patterson, the highest peak in the rugged Sweetwater Mountains of Mono County. This is a small perennial herb producing one to three stems from a rhizome, the plant generally not exceeding ten centimeters in height. The herbage is hairless and green to red in color. The leaves are thick and often fleshy, measuring 2 to 4 centimeters long. They are narrow and linear or lance-shaped, sometimes with wavy edges or divisions into lobes. The inflorescence bears one to four flower heads containing yellow disc florets and usually 8 ray florets measuring one half to one centimeter in length.

Senecio scorzonella, known by the common name Sierra ragwort, is a species of the genus Senecio and family Asteraceae which is native to California and Nevada. It grows in the southernmost Cascade Range, the Sierra Nevada, and the White Mountains. Media related to Senecio scorzonella at Wikimedia Commons

Senecio serra is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names tall ragwort and sawtooth groundsel. It is native to the western United States, where it can be found in several types of habitat, including sagebrush and woodlands. It is a perennial herb producing a single erect stem or a cluster of stems from a branched, woody caudex. The plant can exceed two meters in height. It is hairless in texture, with young plants sometimes appearing fuzzy, and green to red-tinged in color. The leaves have lance-shaped blades up to 20 centimeters long borne on short petioles, the leaves occurring evenly all along the stems. The inflorescence is a spreading array of many flower heads, each lined with green- or black-tipped phyllaries. The heads contain yellow disc florets and 5 to 8 yellow ray florets each under a centimeter long.

Senecio spartioides is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name broom-like ragwort. It is native to the western United States as far east as the Dakotas and Texas, and northern Mexico. It can be found in dry, rocky, often disturbed areas in a number of habitat types. It is a subshrub which can exceed a meter in height, its arching stems growing from a woody-topped taproot. The leaves are linear in shape and up to 10 centimeters long. The leaves usually have smooth, unlobed edges, but slightly lobed leaves are seen at times. The leaves are evenly distributed along the stems, the ones low on the stems withering away early, giving the plant a naked appearance on the lower half while the top is still lush green and blooming. The inflorescences are spreading, flat-topped arrays of many cylindrical flower heads. The heads contain yellow disc florets and generally either 5 or 8 ray florets each about a centimeter long. Senecio spartioides' silvery white pappus hairs, that carry the tiny, brown seeds aloft, attract as much attention as the golden yellow flowers. The hairs are common on many members of the Sunflower Family, most famously on Dandelions, Taraxacum officinale.

Arrowhead Butterweed (Senecio triangularis) is a native perennial herb 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 4 feet, with active growth during the summer and fall. Flowers are yellow and striking, and bloom in the mid summer. Leaves are medium green and deciduous. It tends to grow in wet meadows and streambanks in open places, at elevations from 4000-11000 feet.

Catclaw (Senegalia greggii) is a shrub in the Legume family known for its fragrant fuzzy flowers and spines on its branches. The genus Senegalia was formerly classified with the Acacias, and some sources still refer to it by that name. Common names for this species include Catclaw Acacia, Catclaw Mesquite, Gregg's Catclaw, Devil's Claw, Paradise Flower, and Wait-a-minute Bush.

Plant away from places where the spines can catch you. It can make a good barrier planting.

Birds use this plant for shelter and building nests. The fruit is a legume pod valued by wildlife.

Senna armata is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names spiny senna and desert senna. It is native to the desert regions around the intersection of Nevada, Arizona, eastern California and northern Baja California, where it grows in sandy and rocky habitat, such as arroyos. It is a shrub growing up to a meter tall, its grooved, branching stems often narrowing to thorns at their tips. The spiny branches are coated in tubular hairs which help protect it from hot desert air. The spine-tipped leaves are each made up of two to four pairs of small leaflets. The leaves are ephemeral, dropping soon after emerging, leaving the shrub naked most of the time. Flowers occur singly or in small clusters in leaf axils. They are fragrant and showy, with five petals in shades of yellow to salmon pink, each measuring roughly a centimeter long. The fruit is a legume pod up to 4 centimeters long.

Senna covesii (Desert Senna, Coues' Senna, Rattleweed, "rattlebox", "dais" or "Cove Senna") is a perennial subshrub in the family Fabaceae, native to the Mojave Desert in southeastern California, southern Nevada, and Arizona in the United States, and northern Baja California in Mexico. It is found on desert plains and in sandy washes between 500-600 meter altitude, and very common in Joshua Tree National Park, and is also found in the Sonoran Desert. The specific name honors ornithologist Elliott Coues. It grows to 30-60 centimeter tall, and is leafless most of the year. The leaves are pinnate, 3-7 centimeter long, with 2-3 pairs of leaflets (no terminal leaflet), the leaflets elliptical, 1-2.5 centimeter long. The flowers are yellow in color, with five rounded petals about 12 millimeter long.

Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), also commonly known simply as redwood, is the sole living species of the genus Sequoia, trees in the Cypress family (Cupressaceae). The evergreen needles cover long branches that drape gracefully over the characteristic rust-colored bark of its trunk. These are the tallest trees on earth, with the tallest reaching at almost 380 feet, and a trunk at 26 feet around.

Redwood cones are small compared to other evergreens but are valuable food sources for wildlife. Coast redwood supports many animals, insects, amphibians and birds. The endangered Marbled Murrelet lives in the branches of old-growth redwood trees. The redwood grows within 30 miles of the coast in California and southwestern Oregon. It relies on ample fog and cool temperatures in the summer, and rainy winters. It also grows best when it has company; redwoods support each other with a network of roots and fungi.

If you are lucky enough to live in or near the redwood forest, there is little you need to do for the maintenance of your mature trees. When the inner needles turn brown and shed in late summer, know that this is normal. Even "evergreens" shed old leaves from time to time. Allow the needles to remain on the soil after they fall; they will protect the soil and add important nutrients back into the soil as they break down. When planting a new redwood, site it in moist soil, and away from buildings, where falling branches won't damage structures.

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

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

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

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

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected for the garden.

Sesbania herbacea (syn. Sesbania exaltata) is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names bigpod sesbania, Colorado River-hemp, and coffeeweed. It is native to the United States, particularly the southeastern states, where it grows in moist habitat. It can be found elsewhere as an introduced species. It is a woody herb growing to 3 meters or more in height. The leaves are made up of many pairs of oblong leaflets. The inflorescence is a small raceme of pealike flowers with yellow or purple-spotted petals.

Sesuvium verrucosum is a species of flowering plant in the iceplant family known by the common names western sea-purslane and verrucose sea-purslane. It is native to the Americas, where it can be found in the southwestern quadrant of the United States, Mexico, and parts of South America. It grows in many types of saline and alkaline habitat types on the coast and inland, including salt marshes and other saline wetlands, alkali flats, and drying desert washes. It is a perennial herb producing many branching prostrate stems up to a metre long, forming a mat up to two metres wide. The herbage is verrucose, covered densely in crystalline bumps. The stems are lined with leaves of varying shapes which measure up to 4 cm long. Flowers occur in the leaf axils. They have no petals, but the five, pointed sepals are generally bright pink to reddish or orange in color with a thick, verrucose outer surface. At the centre of the flower is a ring of stamens around the central ovary. The fruit is a capsule about 500 mm long containing many seeds.

Setaria parviflora is a species of grass known by the common names marsh bristlegrass, knotroot bristle-grass, bristly foxtail and yellow bristlegrass. It is native to North America, including Mexico and the United States from California to the East Coast, Central America and the West Indies, and South America. This grass is a perennial with small, knotty rhizomes. It produces stems 30 centimeters to well over one meter tall. The leaf blades are up to 25 centimeters long and under a centimeter wide. The leaves are whitish-green. The inflorescence is a compact, spikelike panicle up to 8 or 10 centimeters long. Surrounding each spikelet are up to 12 yellow or purple bristles. The bristles stay on the stalk after the seeds drop away.

Silver Buffaloberry is a species in the Elaeaginaceae (Oleaster) family, an unusual group having only one genus with two species in California. Buffaloberry is native to central North America from southern Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) south in the United States to northern California and New Mexico. In California it is found in two disjunct populations, east of the Sierras in Inyo, Mono and Alpine Counties, and in the Transverse Range. It is typically found in wetlands within desert environments. It is a deciduous shrub growing to 2-6 meter tall. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs (rarely alternately arranged), 2-6 centimeter long, oval with a rounded tip, green with a covering of fine silvery, silky hairs, more thickly silvery below than above. The flowers are pale yellow, with four sepals and no petals. The fruit is a bright red fleshy drupe 5 millimeters in diameter; it is edible but with a rather bitter taste, best left to the birds.

Russet Buffaloberry (Shepherdia canadensis) is a rare native tree or shrub that grows in northern California. It is fast growing and moderately long-lived. It grows in a semi-upright form to a height of 6 feet, with active growth during the spring and summer. Flowers are yellow and striking, and bloom in the late spring. Leaves are white-gray and deciduous.

Sidalcea calycosa is a native annual herb in the Malvaceae (Mallow) family that grows in central and northern California from the coast to the central valley and Sierra foothills. It tends to grow in marshes, vernal pools and other wet places, at elevations from sea level to 3,900 feet. There are two recognized subspecies. Ssp. rhizomata (Pt. Reyes Checkerbloom) is a rare plant found only along the coast in Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Sidalcea calycosa is most often seen as an annual, but if conditions are right it may become a weak perennial growing from a rhizome. In the garden it needs a very wet area and not too much competition. If conditions are good it will spread.

Pt. Reyes Checkerbloom (Sidalcea calycosa ssp. rhizomata) is a rare native perennial herb that grows in Central and Northern California, primarily in the North Coast and Central Coast regions. It tends to grow in marshes and wet places, at elevations from 0-3900 feet.

Sidalcea covillei is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common names Owens Valley sidalcea, and Owens Valley checkerbloom. It is endemic to the Owens Valley of Inyo County, California, where it grows on alkali flats and in alkaline meadows and springs. While it is limited to this single valley, it is known from 44 sites there, and several populations are relatively large, with the total global population estimated at about two million individuals. This is a perennial herb growing from one or more fleshy roots and reaching maximum heights between 20 and 60 centimeters. The stem is hairy, with rough, bristly hairs near the base and finer ones higher up. The leaves have blades deeply divided into narrow linear lobes, almost divided into leaflets. The leaves are fleshy and waxy in texture. The inflorescence is an open panicle of several flowers each with five pinkish purple petals up to 1. 5 centimeters long. The leaves and flower sepals are coated in tiny branching hairs.

Sidalcea diploscypha is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common name fringed checkerbloom. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the woodlands and valleys of the central part of the state. Sidalcea diploscypha is an annual herb growing up to 40 to 60 centimeters tall with a hairy to bristly stem. The leaves have blades deeply divided into narrow, forking lobes covered in bristly hairs. The inflorescence is a crowded panicle of several flowers. The flower has five pink petals, each with a slight fringe on the tip and sometimes with dark coloration at the base. The petals can be up to 3. 5 centimeters long.

Sidalcea glaucescens is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common name waxy checkerbloom. It is native to California, where it grows in the southernmost mountains of the Cascade Range and the Sierra Nevada, its distribution extending just over the border into Nevada. It can be found in mountain meadow habitats of yellow pine forest, red fir forest, lodgepole forest, and subalpine forest. Sidalcea glaucescens is a perennial herb grows from a thick taproot and caudex unit, producing a slender, waxy stem up to 70 centimetres (28 in) long. The leaves are deeply divided into about five lobes which may be forked or edged with smaller lobes. The inflorescence is a loose panicle of several flowers with pink or purplish petals 1 to 2 centimeters long. The bloom period is June to August.

Sidalcea hartwegii is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common names valley checkerbloom and Hartweg's checkerbloom. The plant is endemic to California, where it grows in the Sacramento Valley and adjacent foothills of the California Coast Ranges to the west, and of the Sierra Nevada to the east. It can be found in oak woodland and grassland habitats below 600 metres (2,000 ft), sometimes on serpentine soils. Sidalcea hartwegii is an annual herb that produces a slender stem up to 30 centimetres (12 in) tall, mostly hairless with occasional branching hairs. The leaf blades are deeply divided into five to seven narrow linear lobes. The inflorescence is a clustered panicle of four to six flowers, each with five purplish pink petals about 2 centimeters long. The bloom period is May and June.

Sidalcea hickmanii is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known generally by the common name chaparral checkerbloom. Sidalcea hickmanii is endemic to California, where it grows in the Central Coast Ranges, the Transverse Ranges and parts of the northern coast. There are four subspecies, most of which are separated geographically. The plant grows in chaparral and other habitat, sometimes on serpentine soils. This perennial herb produces a rough-haired stem up to a meter tall with a woody caudex at the base. The leaves have wide, fan-shaped blades which have rippled edges or divisions into narrow lobes. The inflorescence is an array of several racemes of flowers. Each has pinkish to purplish petals up to 2. 5 centimeters long. Subspecies. Sidalcea hickmanii ssp. anomala - Cuesta Pass checkerbloom is a rare subspecies known only from the vicinity of the Hwy. 101 Cuesta Pass in the southern Santa Lucia Mountains, in San Luis Obispo County, where it is limited to serpentine substrates. It has deeply lobed to almost compound leaves. While rare it becomes locally abundant in areas recently burned by wildfire. Sidalcea hickmanii ssp. hickmanii - Hickman's checkerbloom is limited to the Santa Lucia Mountains of Monterey County. Sidalcea hickmanii ssp. parishii - Parish's checkerbloom is a rare subspecies which has a disjunct distribution in the Transverse Ranges. It is known from the Santa Ynez Mountains north of Santa Barbara, as well as the San Bernardino Mountains on the inland eastern side of the greater Los Angeles Basin area. Sidalcea hickmanii ssp. viridis - Marin checkerbloom is known from Marin County and the northern San Francisco Bay Area, several hundred miles from the other subspecies.

Cuesta Pass Checkerbloom (Sidalcea hickmanii ssp. anomala) is a rare native perennial herb that grows in Southern and Central California, primarily in the South Coast Range and South Coast regions. It tends to grow at elevations from 200-7200 feet.

Sidalcea hirsuta is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common name hairy checkerbloom. It is endemic to California, where it grows in seasonally wet habitat throughout the north-central part of the state, such as vernal pools. It is found in the North California Coast Ranges, the Sacramento Valley and San Joaquin Valley, and the Sierra Nevada foothills. Sidalcea hirsuta is an annual herb that produces a thick stem up to 80 centimeters tall, the top parts covered in bristly hairs. The leaf blades are deeply divided into narrow linear lobes and coated in bristles. The inflorescence is a dense cluster of flowers with pink petals up to 2. 5 centimeters long.

Sidalcea keckii is a rare species of flowering plant in the mallow family, known by the common names Keck's checkerbloom and Keck's checkermallow. The plant is endemic to California, where it is known from the Inner Northern California Coast Ranges and Southern Sierra Nevada foothills. Southern SierraThree recent occurrences in the southern Sierra, all of which may have been extirpated by now. The plant was thought extinct in the southern Sierra until it was rediscovered at one site in Tulare County in 1992. This site, which was located on private land, has since been converted for orange groves, possibly eliminating the plant. The owner of the land has not allowed any searches for the plant since then, but the area is considered critical habitat for this federally listed endangered species. Sidalcea keckii is an annual herb growing up to 35 centimeters tall which is bristly from top to base. The leaves have blades shallowly edged or deeply divided into lobes, the upper blades with toothed edges. The inflorescence is a dense cluster of a few flowers with deep pink petals measuring 1 to 2 centimeters long. Each flower has a calyx of pointed green sepals which may be streaked with pink. The bloom period is April and May.

Sidalcea malachroides, with the common name mapleleaf checkerbloom, is a flowering plant in the genus Sidalcea. The plant is native to the California Coast Ranges in the North Coast and Monterey Bay regions of California, and the Oregon Coast Range in Oregon. It grows below 700 metres (2,300 ft) in elevation. Within California it is a Vulnerable species listed on the California Native Plant Society Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants. Sidalcea malachroides is a perennial herb or subshrub, 4-15 decimetres (16-59 in) tall. The leaves are generally all along stem. The flowers are head-like spikes, in white or pale purple-white. The bloom period is April to August.

Checker Bloom (Sidalcea malviflora) is a common native perennial herb in the Malvaceae (Mallow) family that grows in Northern, Southern and Central California, the Sierra Nevada and Sacramento Valley regions. It tends to grow in meadows and open flats, at elevations from sea level to 7,500 feet. It has bright green palmate leaves and 1" deep pink flowers arranged vertically on a spike. There are several recognized subspecies with different geographic ranges and slightly differing characteristics.

This plant tolerates a wide variety of soils, and prefers damp winter conditions and dry summer conditions. It is most often started from seed and sometimes behaves like an annual.

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

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

Dwarf Checkerbloom (Sidalcea malviflora ssp. laciniata) is a common native perennial herb that grows in Northern, Southern and Central California, primarily in the High Sierra Nevada and Sacramento Valley regions. It tends to grow in dry, open flats, at elevations from 0-7500 feet.

Checker Mallow (Sidalcea malviflora ssp. malviflora) is a common native perennial herb that grows in Northern, Southern and Central California, primarily in the High Sierra Nevada and Sacramento Valley regions. It tends to grow in dry, open places, at elevations from 0-7500 feet.