RON Plant Facts






Native plant information adapted from: Native Plants and Habitats of Monterey & California
By: Dana Mills Helman
 
 
 

Grasses

"How can you recognize a grass?"
"Sedges have edges and rushes are round,
Grasses have nodes all the way to the ground."
 

    Grasses have long, narrow bladed leaves that join the stem with a sheath. Grasses have rounded, hollow stems with nodes or joints all the way to the ground. Grasses bloom in spikelets of tiny greenish, brownish, or reddish flowers on stems that reach above the grass blades. These flowers are wind pollinated during winter or spring days. Grass seeds form fruits called grains which are harvested by people or animals for later use or the seeds hitchhike with barbs or stickers seeking new homes to germinate more grasses.
 
 

Arundo (Arundo donax)


Commonly known as Giant Reed or Wild Cane, this invasive weed is overtaking Monterey County's natural riverside vegetation. This North African perennial grass species crowds out native riparian species while at the same time restricts water flow. Arundo spreads when its rhizomes are broken from floods or equipment use.
 
 

Bunchgrasses

Poaceae. Grass Family

Native California grasses are perennial bunch grasses which can reach 200 years old with a 25 foot deep root system holding the soil and creating an underground ecosystem. When grazing animals were imported by Europeans, they brought the annual seeds of European grasses mixed with oats and other implements. Gradually, the bunch grasses were weakened by grazing animals and the annual grasses took over as the "weeds" that now cover our fields with green carpet in the winter and brown in summer.
 

Pampas/Jubata Grass- (Cortaderia jubata and Cortaderia sellowana)


Pampas grasses, ornamentals native to Argentina and Chile, are best known for their tall seed plumes and razor sharp leaves. They quickly establish themselves in road cuts, hillsides, gullies, and other disturbed areas. It is critical that these plants be controlled prior to seeding because each flower (plume) stalk produces up to a million seeds. Pampas grass evolved many millions of years ago during the last ice age. It had to endure the harsh weather and large grazing animals like the Wooly Mammoth.
 
 
 

Forbs

Forbs are the name given to a group of plants that do not have woody stems or leaves and structures like grasses.  Many of these plants are annuals, which mean they die each year and rely on their seeds to germinate and grow to become next years plants.
 
 
 
 

Cobweb thistle -(Cirsium occidentale)

Asteraceae. Sunflower family

Not all thistles are bad. The cobweb thistle is a native thistle to California and is a favorite of many native pollinators. Cobweb thistle is an annual plant that has a brilliant reddish purple flower in the summer and dies in the fall. The cobweb thistle drops its seeds from only 2-4 flower heads in the hopes of making more cobweb thistles for next year.
 
 

Yellow Starthistle- (Centaura solstitialis)


Yellow Starthistle dominated 14 million acres of California in 1998. In Monterey County, Yellow Starthistle is a serious invader of rangeland and disturbed roadsides. It outcompetes other plants including range grasses and natives. One Yellow Starthistle plant can contain over 1000 viable seeds each year. Toxins carried in the leaves and stems can be fatal to horses.
 
 
 

Shrubs

Shrubs are low growing, under 8 foot,  woody plant usually having several stems. Shrubs are normally the plants we refer to as 'bushes' or 'bushy' in shape.
 
 
 

Western poison oak - (Toxicodendron diversilobum)


This native plant can form a bushy shrub or a climbing vine 1-10 feet tall. Poison oak grows from sea level to 5,000 feet of elevation. Characterized by alternate leaves with three or occasionally five veined, shiny leaflets, poison oak thrives throughout California. To help you remember what poison oak looks like remember these two handy rules. 1) Leaves of three, let it be. 2) If its hairy itās a berry, Shiny watch your hiney!!! In the autumn, the leaves turn from green to a deep red color. Exposure to the oily sap contained in all parts of the poison oak - roots, stem, leaves, flowers, and the fruit (berries) -This oil can cause skin irritation ranging from mild to severe.
 

Manzanitas Arctostaphylos

Ericaceae. Heath Family


The manzanita has reddish brown bark that peels away from its woody trunk and very crooked branches. It is an evergreen shrub with leathery leaves adapted to conserve water. Small urn-shaped pink or white flowers become little apples or "manzanitas" which are round and reddish pink. Native Americans ate them fresh, dried, or to make a soft drink. They also used the wood of the manzanita for building. A lotion was made from the dry seeds to soothe poison oak rash. Animals also eat the seeds and deposit them with fertilizer in new locations to reproduce new plants.
 

Ceanothus Ceanothus

Raamnacea. Buckthorn Family


This dense shrub has a variety of species, both native and cultivated. Ceanothus is a hearty, drought resistant shrub, that provides a habitat for a host of native insects and animals.  The many Ceanothus species are often refered to as the California Lilacs.
 
 
 

Coyote Bush- Chaparral Broom (Chamiso)

(Baccharis pilularis)

Asteraceae. Sunflower family

These woody,  shrubs are adapted to live through periods of drought thanks to their tough, wind-resistent leathery leaves which protect them from water loss. They grow abundantly on windy bluffs in the low ground cover species, while the taller populations out of the wind, are adapted to the coastal scrub and chaparral. Perhaps they could be used to make brooms and certainly resemble coyote tails when they bloom throughout the summer. Parachute seeds then fly in the wind to reproduce new coyote bush.
 
 
 

Chamise-Adenostoma fasciculata

Rosaceae. Rose Family


This very fragrant shrub is a favorite of pollinators. The fragrant secretions which offer protection from herbivores is also increases this plants flammability and provides much of the kindling for many of the fires in the chaparral environment. Chamise helps start fires in this ecosystem that burn away old growth and give new seedlings of all species the opportunity to compete for light and nutrients.
 
 
 
 

Black Sage- Salvia mellifera

Lamiaceae. Mint family

This large, bushy green leaf shrub grows 3-6 feet high. Heads of blue to lavender or whitish flowers grow on spike stalks in groups called whorels. While the strong smelling leaves were used by the early people to clear the nose and flavor food, the strong aroma also protects the plants from being eaten by deer and other herbivores. Teas were made of the leaves for upset stomach, sore throat, and stuffy noses.
 
 
 

Monkey Flower

Sticky, Common, Scarlet

Mimulus auranticus, m. guttatus, M. cardinalis

Scropulariaceae. Figwort Family

Monkey flowers, resembling a monkey's face, are popular plants among bees, butterflies, hummingbirds (...and children) who suck the sweet nectar from the orange, yellow, or red flowers. This helps the flowers to cross-polinate as insects travel from flower to flower. The leaves become sticky in the hot sun because of a varnish-like substance that keeps water in and herbivorous predators away. Native Americans used both the stems and leaves for salad greens. Crushed raw leaves were applied to open wounds to aid healing.
 
 

Lupine

(Lupinus)

Fabaceae. Pea Family

Lupines come in many different species, ranging in sizes from less than a foot tall to over three feet tall. Some are annual and reseed every year, while others are perennial growing from the same plant for many years. They all have palmate leaves which are grouped in five, like the palm of a hand. Candle-like spikes of flowers bloom in spring and summer, with each flower resembling the garden sweet pea. Bees rest on the lower "keel" part of the flower in search of nectar. The bee's belly is then dusted with pollen from male stamens or cleaned of pollen by the female stigma, thus pollinating the flower. The root system of lupine plays host to tiny nodules of bacteria that convert nitrogen from the air into soil nutrient, helping to improve the soil for all plants.
 
 
 

French Broom

(Genista monspessulana)

Fabaceae. Pea Family


French Broom, although beautiful, is an extremely aggressive weed. This invasive quickly colonizes disturbed areas. French broom has a competitive advantage over native vegetation with its rapid growth, viable seeds, long-lasting seedbank and absence of natural enemies.
 
 
 
 
 

Succulents

 

Ice plant

(Carpobrotus edulis)


Ice plant, also known as Hottentot fig, is a well-known invasive weed in Monterey coastal dune areas. This non-native rapidly attacks and overruns native plants with its creeping radial roots.
 
 

Bluff lettuce (Dudleya)

Crassulaceae. Stonecrop Family


This elegant and hearty native succulent, can be found clinging to the cliffs and bluffs of wind swept sandy regions. Bluff lettuce gets its name from its lettuce like bunching.
 
 
 

Ivy

 

Cape Ivy

(Delairia odorata)


Cape Ivy is a familiar groundcover commonly seen in yards and planting beds. Cape Ivy is a non-native plant that was introduced by former settlers as a garden plant. Its leaves are dark green and waxy, typically have 3 to 5 points, and vary in size from 3 to 10 inches. Small flowers yield small black fruits that birds eat and disperse the seeds to other areas. Cape Ivy eventually forms thick, fibrous mats on the ground, choking out all other plants as it creeps ever outward. It is even able to climb trees and kills them by out-competing the tree for light and nutrients.
 
 

Wild Cucumber

(Echinocystis lobata)


This native creeping vine sprouts every spring from a very large underground tuber once used by native americans as food in time of hardship. The vine winds up other plants and produces small greenish flowers. In late summer spiny, papery seed pods contain hard seeds which resemble acorns.
 
 
 
 

Vocabulary:

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