Wildflower Identification Guide (Green/Brown)

TREES/LARGE SHRUBS

Foothill Ash, Leaves	Foothill Ash, Bark	NOTES Foothill Ash AKA California Ash, Flowering Ash, Two-Petal Ash Fraxinus dipetala Olive family	Foothill Ash, Seeds
Unidentified Ash, Leaves	Unidentified Ash, Bark Fraxinus sp. Olive family	Unidentified Ash Fraxinus sp. Olive family
California Bay, Leaves	California Bay, Bark	NOTES California Bay AKA California Laurel, Oregon Myrtle, Pepperwood Umbellularia californica Laurel family	California Bay, Flowers
Buckbrush, Leaves	Buckbrush, Bark	NOTES Buckbrush AKA Wedgeleaf Ceanothus Ceanothus cuneatus Buckthorn family	Buckbrush, Flowers
California Buckeye, Leaves	California Buckeye, Bark	NOTES California Buckeye AKA Horse Chestnut Aesculus californica Buckeye family	California Buckeye, in Fall
California Buckeye, Pod	California Buckeye, Seed
Buttonbush, Leaves	Buttonbush, Flower	NOTES Buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis Madder family	Buttonbush, Seeds
Fremont Cottonwood, Leaves	Fremont Cottonwood, Bark	NOTES Fremont Cottonwood AKA Rio Grande Cottonwood Populus fremontii Willow family	NOTES Cell Tree Arboreus cellulitis ssp. YLP Verizon family
Deerbrush, Leaves and Berries	Deerbrush, Bark	NOTES Deerbrush AKA Buckbrush, Mountain Lilac, California Lilac Ceanothus integerrimus Buckthorn family	Deerbrush, Flowers
Blue Elderberry, Leaves	Blue Elderberry, Bark	NOTES Blue Elderberry Sambucus mexicana Honeysuckle family	Blue Elderberry, Berries
Whiteleaf Manzanita, Leaves	Whiteleaf Manzanita, Bark	NOTES Whiteleaf Manzanita Arctostaphylos viscida Heath family	Whiteleaf Manzanita, Berries
California Black Oak, Leaves	California Black Oak, Bark	NOTES California Black Oak AKA Kellogg Oak Quercus kelloggii Beech family
Blue Oak, Leaves	Blue Oak, Bark	NOTES Blue Oak AKA Iron Oak, Mountain White Oak Quercus douglasii Beech family	Blue Oak, Acorn
Sierra Live Oak, Leaves	Sierra Live Oak, Bark	NOTES Sierra Live Oak AKA Interior Live Oak Quercus wislizenii Beech family	Sierra Live Oak, Flowers
Poison Oak, Leaves	Poison Oak, Fall Leaves	NOTES Poison Oak Toxicodendron diversilobum Sumac family	Poison Oak, Flowers
Valley Oak, Leaves	Valley Oak, Bark	NOTES Valley Oak AKA Valley White Oak, California White Oak Quercus lobata Beech family	Valley Oak, Acorn Valley Oak acorn is the large one; the others are Live Oak acorns
Digger Pine, Needles (Closeup)	Digger Pine, Bark	NOTES Digger Pine AKA Gray Pine, Bull Pine Pinus sabiniana Pine family	Digger Pine, Cone
Hollyleaf Redberry, Leaves	Hollyleaf Redberry, Bark	NOTES Hollyleaf Redberry AKA Hollyleaf Coffeeberry, Evergreen Buckthorn Rhamnus ilicifolia Buckthorn family	Hollyleaf Redberry, Berries
Western Redbud, Leaves	Western Redbud, Bark and Flowers	NOTES Western Redbud AKA California Redbud Cercis occidentalis Pea family	Western Redbud, Seeds
Squawbush, Leaves	Squawbush, Flowers	NOTES Squawbush AKA Skunkbrush, Skunkbush Sumac Rhus trilobata Sumac family	Squawbush, Berries
Arroyo Willow, Leaves	Arroyo Willow, Bark	NOTES Arroyo Willow AKA White Willow Salix lasiolepis Benth. Willow family
Pacific Willow, Leaves	Pacific Willow, Bark	NOTES Pacific Willow AKA Western Black Willow, Shining Willow, Yellow Willow Salix lasiandra Willow family	Pacific Willow, Catkin

SEEDS AND BERRIES

NOTES Himalayan Blackberry Rubus discolor Rose family	NOTES California Buckwheat Eriogonum fasciculatum Benth. var. polifolium Buckwheat family	NOTES Shrubby Butterweed AKA Bush Senecio, Douglas' Senecio, Threadleaf Ragwort Senecio flaccidus var. douglasii Sunflower family	NOTES Sticky Chinese Houses Collinsia heterophylla Figwort family
NOTES Clammy Clover AKA Creek Clover Trifolium obtusiflorum Pea family	NOTES Cocklebur AKA Rough Cockleburr Xanthium strumarium Buttercup family	NOTES Wild Cucumber AKA California Manroot Marah fabaceus Cucumber family
NOTES Curly Dock, Fresh Seeds (Closeup)	Curly Dock, Ripe Seeds Rumex crispus Buckwheat family	Filaree, Seed Erodium sp. Geranium family	Oak Galls These are not peaches on a Blue Oak! (Caused by tiny wasps)
NOTES Hedge-Parsley Torilis arvensis Parsley family	NOTES Chaparral Honeysuckle Lonicera interrupta Honeysuckle family	NOTES Lacepod AKA Fringepod Thysanocarpus curvipes Mustard family	NOTES Prickly Lettuce AKA Bitter Lettuce, Opium Lettuce, Poison Wild Lettuce Lactuca serriola Sunflower family
Whorled Lupine Lupinus densiflorus Pea family	NOTES Woolly Milkweed Asclepias vestita Milkweed family	NOTES Hall's Mule Ears Wyethia elata Sunflower family	NOTES Large Water Plantain AKA Northern Water Plantain Alisma triviale Water Plantain family
NOTES Rattlesnake Weed AKA American Wild Carrot, Daucus pusillus Pea family	Hollyleaf Redberry Rhamnus ilicifolia Buckthorn family	Western Redbud	NOTES Common Senecio AKA Common Butterweed, Common Groundsel, Old Man of Spring Senecio vulgaris Sunflower family
NOTES Silver Puffs Microseris lindleyi Sunflower family	NOTES Tocolote Centaurea meletensis Sunflower family	NOTES Spiny Sowthistle Sonchus asper ssp. asper Sunflower family	NOTES Sunflower Helianthus annuus Sunflower family
NOTES California Thistle Cirsium occidentale Sunflower family	NOTES Canada Thistle Cirsium arvense Sunflower family	Tumbleweed AKA Pigweed Amaranth Amaranthus albus Amaranth family
Unidentified, GB24	Unidentified, GB25

NOTES:

Arroyo Willow
Bloom: Spring
Description:   Up to 30' with a 6" diameter. Usually a thicket-forming shrub, sometimes a small tree. Thick, leathery eaves are 3/8–¾" wide and 2½–4" long, dark green above, whitish and usually hairy below. Bark is smooth, pale gray-brown with whitish areas, becoming darker, rough, & furrowed into broad ridges. Flowers are catkins, 1–2" long, dark scales with long white hairs. May occur before or with leaves. Fruit (¼") is hairless capsules, light reddish brown, maturing in late spring.
Special: Native. BACK
Bermuda Grass
Description: Low-growing perennial herb. Spreads by seeds, surface runners, and rootstocks (some of which may be quite deep).
Special:   Not native; invasive. Tolerates flooding, but not severe freezes. Good for grazing and for bank control.   BACK
Bird's-Foot Fern
Description: This fern, which looks and feels like an artificial plastic plant, has creeping rhizomes and pinnately to bipinnately compound leaves lacking prominent scales or trichomes on the blades. Prefers rocky habitats, including moist rocky canyons, slopes, and bluffs.
Special:  Native. Very hardy. BACK
Blue Elderberry
Bloom: Early June
Description: Shrub, many-branched, 6–12' (occasionally as tall as 25'). Leaves opposite, dark green, pinnately divided into 5–9 leaflets. Flowers are flat-topped clusters of creamy white.
Special: Native. Although the shrub is considered toxic, the ripe, tart blue berries are not, & can be eaten raw or made into jam, jelly, pie, or wine. Elderberry likes moist flats or slopes & stream banks. BACK
Blue Oak
Description:   Deciduous tree, 0–60'. Leaves pale blue-green above, paler below. 1¼–4". 4–5 shallow, rounded lobes, thin but stiff. Bark light gray and scaly. Trunk usually leans. Twigs are brittle and hairy. Acorns are ¾–1¾", eaten by wildlife and livestock.
Special:   Native; limited to California. Dubbed Iron Oak by early settlers because the wood is closed-grained and heavy. Used mainly for fuel.   BACK
Bracken Fern
Description: Large fern, sometimes over 3'. Fronds, shaped like triangles have three leaflets with tiny mini-leaves. It reproduces from rhizomes up to 6' or by spores. Fronds die with frost.
Special:   Native. Young spring ferns are eaten by deer and rabbits. Has been eaten as human food, but scientists discovered that too much may cause cancer. Also used to make medicines and a yellow dye.   BACK
Brome Grass
Description: Annual herb.
Special:   Some species are native; others are considered invasive. BACK
Buckbrush
Bloom: Spring
Description: Small shrub to 11'. Small white flowers in roundish clusters. [more to come]
Special: Native. BACK
Buttonbush
Bloom: May–August
Description: Shrub, 3–10', in wet places and streamsides. White flowers are in round balls. The tubular flowers are about 1/3", each with a long, protruding style. Leaves egg-shaped, 3–6" long.
Special:   Native.   BACK
California Bay

Bloom: Late Winter–Early Spring
Description: Evergreen tree, 40–80'. Bark is green to reddish brown. Leaves are 2–5", shiny dark green above, paler and dull below. Berries are greenish-purple, up to 1", enclosing a large brown seed. Habitat is canyons.
Special: Native. All parts are aromatic. Fruits eaten by birds and small animals. California natives used the saplings for bows, and ground the nuts into meal for small cakes. Tea was made from the leaves to cure stomach ailments and headaches. Today, we use the leaves as flavoring for soups and stews. The wood is prized for furniture, paneling, and woodenware.   BACK

California Black Oak
Bloom: May–June
Description: Deciduous tree, vaselike shape, 30–80'; 1–3' diameter. Large leaves, 3–8" long, 2–5" wide. Elliptical, usually 7-lobed, with sharp, bristled teeth. Shiny dark green above, light yellow-green & often hairy below. Bark dark-brown, thick, becoming furrowed into irregular plates & ridges, but on small trunks is a smooth light brown. Acorns are 1–½" long.
Special: Native.   BACK
California Buckeye
Bloom: May–June
Description: Shrub or small tree, 25'. Large leaves, palmately compound with usually 7 leaflets, each about 6". The leaves look like the spread fingers of the hand. Showy flower clusters 6–8" long, tubular whitish or pale rose flowers with flared lobes. Later, flowers are replaced by glossy brown seeds in a leathery capsule (one capsule per flower cluster). Bark is light gray, thin, smooth.
Special: Native; limited to California. Enters dormancy in midsummer. Seeds are toxic, causing nausea, vomiting, & paralysis. Natives pulverized them & threw them into dammed pools & streams, stupefying fish to make them easy to catch. The nuts are edible if steamed for several hours until the consistency of a boiled potato, then either slicing or mashing them and leaching for several days. This treated starchy material may be eaten cold or made into cakes.   BACK
California Buckwheat
Bloom:   Spring
Description: Perennial shrub. Pink and white flower heads turn white in summer and to a rust color in fall. Leaves are tiny, narrow, and numerous. Fast-growing, drought-tolerant.
Special: Native. Apparently this wild species is not useful for buckwheat flour.   BACK
California Thistle
Bloom: April–July
Description: Perennial herb, 1–4'. Flowers pale to bright pink. Bracts have small tufts of cottony hair near each base. Stems gray with a few very short leaves.
Special: Native; limited to California. Roots may be eaten raw, boiled, or roasted. Peeled stems may be cooked as greens. Young leaves edible raw.   BACK
Canada Thistle
Bloom: June–September
Description: Perennial herb, 1–3½'. Numerous marblelike flower heads. Heads, stem, leaves are shiny and "varnished." Leaves slender, lancelike with shallowly lobed spiny margins, green on both sides.
Special: Not native; invasive. Likes disturbed places.   BACK
Cell Tree
Description: Extremely tall evergreen. Grows very fast to about 100' and then stops. Very regular in limb habit and needle length. Closely related to Arboreus cellulitis ssp. palmus, found in Southern California.
Special:   Introduced species, spreading rapidly. Present-day natives use these trees to signal other tribal members at a distance.   BACK
Chaparral Honeysuckle

Bloom: May–July
Description: Deciduous, sprawling shrub with yellow honeysuckle flowers. It has edible but bitter berries. Hummingbirds like the flowers.
Special: Native.   BACK

Clammy Clover
Bloom:
Description: Annual herb.
Special: Native.    BACK
Cocklebur
Bloom: July–November
Description: Annual herb. Flowers minute, leaves broadly triangular. Large oblong burs have numerous stiff hooked hairs.
Special: Native. BACK
Common Senecio

Bloom: March–June
Description: Annual herb, 4–20". Leaves are rough, pinnately lobed. Stem is filled with milky sap. Yellow disk flowers emerge slightly above long, green phyllaries, which are pointed & black-tipped. When the flowers go to seed, they have dandelionlike parachutes.
Special: Not native. Common weed in our park.   BACK
Curly Dock
Bloom: May–September
Description: Perennial herb, 1–5'. Flowers insignificant; seeds hang singly in clusters of flat pods. Leaves have curled margins. First-year plants have flattish rosette of leaves.
Special:   Not native. Rhubarblike leaves of docks have long been prized as cooked greens, although the young leaves have a somewhat bitter taste. Boiling in two changes of water solved that problem. Natives and settlers also ground the seeds into flour.   BACK
Deerbrush
Bloom: April–June
Description: Shrub, openly branched. Up to 13', erect or spreading. Leaves lanceolate to ovate, alternate, to 2½", 3 main veins. Upper side darker than lower, which may be covered with fine, white hairs. Inflorescence is a branched cluster of white or pale blue saucer-shaped, fragrant flowers. The tiny flowers have 5 petal-like sepals and 5 spoon-shaped petals.
Special: Native. Sweet, spicy honey scent. Some species have thorns. Natives hardened the branches with fire, then used them as digging sticks.   BACK
Digger Pine

Description: 40–70' or more. Needles are 3 to a bundle, pale gray-green, 8–12", but sparse (early pioneers described it as "the tree that you can see through"). The trunk is forked, and often leans. On slopes, it often grows at a right angle. Roots are deep, and this pine can grow in poor, rocky soil. The bark is dark gray and furrowed with age, but smooth on branches.
Special:   The wood is not durable; used only for fuel. Cones are large (6–10") and heavy, maturing in 2 years, and after opening, may remain on tree for years. Birds and small animals eat the sweet seeds. The name Digger comes from a term for native peoples who dug up roots for food and harvested large quantities of these seeds.   BACK
Foothill Ash
Bloom: Spring
Description: Large shrub or small tree to 20'. Drooping white flowers with 2 petal-like lobes. Leaves opposite, pinnately compound, 5–7 leaflets, 1½–4½". Dark green above, paler beneath. Bark light gray-brown and smooth when young, later becoming a rough and rectangular scaly pattern. Twigs are 4-angled when young.
Special: Bunches of hanging seeds, oblong key shapes with broad wings. Also planted as an ornamental because of its showy flowers.   BACK
Four-Leaved Allseed
Description: Annual herb.
Special: Not native.   BACK
Fremont Cottonwood
Bloom: Spring.
Description: Native tree, 40–80'. Toothed leaves 2–3", triangular, often broader than long. Shiny yellow-green, turning yellow in fall. Catkins appear in early spring, with male and female catkins on separate trees. The fruit is an egg-shaped capsule, which splits into 3 parts, releasing many cottony seeds.
Special: Hopi Indians carve kachina dolls from cottonwood roots.   BACK
Hall's Mule Ears

Bloom: June–August
Description:   Coarse perennial herb, 1–2'. Large, toothed yellow ray flowers surrounding yellow disk flowers. Leaves large, grayish, and fuzzy, slightly serrated.
Special: Native, limited to California.  Seeds edible, tasting like sunflower seeds. Some Native Americans used the roots as medicine for sores, burns, and rheumatism. BACK

Hedge-Parsley
Description:  Annual herb, 1–4'. Compound umbels, flowers white, flat-topped. Leaves once or twice pinnate. Seeds are bristly burs.
Special:    Not native; invasive.   BACK
Himalayan Blackberry
Bloom: Late Spring–Early Summer
Description: Flowers about 1" wide and pink when new, turning white. Stems thorny, arching. Larger stems are 5-sided, not round. Leaf underside is whitish; thorns are wide-based & somewhat curved.
Special: Not native. Delicious fruits are black or deep purplish black when ripe.   BACK
Hollyleaf Redberry
Bloom: Spring
Description: Evergreen shrub to 12'. Flowers are yellow. Berries are bright clear red. Grey bark, stiff branches, upright. Hummingbirds and insects collect nectar from the flowers. Many birds love the berries.
Special: Native. Can cause minor dermatitis. BACK
Lacepod
Bloom: One of the earliest spring plants
Description: To 2'. Stem bears numerous tiny (less than 1/8") white, sometimes purple-tinged) flowers hanging from slender pedicels. Its fruits are conspicuous ¼–½" "flying saucers." Each silicle is flat and circular with a green center from which radiate numerous narrow spokes. The spokes are connected by a papery white membrane tinged pink-purple at the periphery.
Special: Seeds may be parched & eaten, or ground & mixed with flour.   BACK
Large Water Plantain
Bloom: June–September
Description: Perennial aquatic herb, 8"–3'. Small (¼") 3-petaled white flowers on greatly branched stems. Large oval-shaped leaves are stiff if above water, ribbonlike below water.
Special: Native. Provides food and habitat for waterfowl, fish, and wildlife. Historical medicinal uses. Corms were stored for human food.   BACK
Narrowleaf Cattail

Description: Wetland plant. Leaves stiff, swordlike, from the base. This species is smaller than Common Cattail, with the lighter colored male flowers separated on the stalk from the dark female flowers.
Special: Native. Cattails have many uses. In fall & winter, the starchy rhizomes can be peeled and cooked like potatoes, or dried and ground into flour. Dormant sprouts growing from the rhizomes can be steamed (known as Russian asparagus). In spring and early summer, young shoots can be eaten raw or cooked. Immature flower spikes can be boiled and eaten like miniature ears of corn. The pollen of the male flowers can be used as flour with no grinding necessary. Leaves can be woven into mats, baskets, roofs, etc. The fluffy "fruits" can be used as pillow stuffing and diaper material, among other things. BACK

Nutsedge
Bloom: August–October
Description: Wetland plant. Flowers are minute, borne in scaly heads in loose clusters atop a triangular stem. Leaves are stiff and grasslike at the base, and in an umbrellalike whorl at the top of the stem.
Special: Native. Nutsedge is a difficult-to-eradicate weed in our landscaping. Where irrigation water is available, its tubers form on a rhizone, spreading the plant and making it difficult to dig out without harming the ornamental plant.   BACK
Pacific Willow
Bloom: Spring
Description: Tree, 20–50' with a 2' diameter. Open, irregular crown (sometimes a thicket-forming shrub).   Leaves lance-shaped, very long-pointed, finely saw-toothed; almost hairless. Leafstalks slender, with glands at upper end. Shiny green above, whitish beneath. Bark is gray or dark brown, becoming deeply furrowed into flat, scaly ridges. Catkins are 1½–4" long with hairy yellow or brown scales (with leaves in Spring). Fruit is ¼", light reddish-brown hairless capsules maturing in early summer. Habitat is wet soils.
Special:   Native.   BACK
Poison Oak
Bloom: Late Spring–Early Summer
Description: Woody shrub or climbing vine. Early in season, leaves (in sets of 3 leaflets) are bright green, reddish later. Very small green flowers. Fruit is gray or whitish.
Special: Native. The plant's oils cause irritating dermatitis, & the entire plant should be avoided at all seasons.   BACK
Prickly Lettuce
Bloom: May–September
Description: Annual herb, 2–5'. Single tall, white, erect stem has broad, dark gray-green, pinnate lobed leaves with yellow prickles on both sides. Small yellow flower heads open during morning hours. Fluffy parachuted seed heads.
Special: Not native; invasive. Disturbed places. BACK
Rabbitsfoot Grass
Description: Annual herb.
Special: Not native.   BACK
Rattlesnake Weed
Bloom: April–June
Description: Annual hairy herb, 1–3'. White flowers in an umbel, with many 3-forked bracts below. When mature, the flower umbrel turns brownish and folds into a cup shape. Leaves are pinnately compound and, when crushed, smell like carrots.
Special: Native. Roots were eaten by Native Americans. Its burs readily stick to clothing.   BACK
Shiver Grass
Description: Annual herb.
Special:   Not native. Invasive.   BACK
Shrubby Butterweed

Bloom: April–September
Description: 1–3'. Yellow flowers 1¼", rays not overlapping, in branched clusters. Bluish-green leaves 1–5", divided into very narrow lobes; upper leaves often simply quite narrow.
Special: Native. One of the most toxic range plants to livestock, particularly new growth. Once used medicinally by natives.   BACK
Sierra Live Oak
Description: Evergreen tree, 30–70'. Short trunk; often twice as broad as tall. Bark dark gray to brown, furrowed with age. 1–2" leaves are evergreen, shiny dark green above, lighter below. Two leaf types often present on the same tree, some smooth, others with sharp, spiny edges.
Special:   Native; limited to California. Acorn is slender, egg-shaped. Acorns provide food for wildlife, and deer browse the foliage. The wood is used for fuel, not commercially, as the long, large limbs create knots and make access difficult. BACK
Silver Puffs

Bloom: May–July
Description: Annual herb, 4"–2'. Single 70- to 100-flowered heads. Seed heads are white, 5-petal star shape.
Special: Native.   BACK

Sorghum
Description: Annual herb. Prefers wetlands.
Special:   Not native; escaped cultivar. BACK
Spiny Sowthistle

Bloom: June–September
Description: Annual herb, 1–3'. Coarse plants with bright yellow flower heads ½–2". Numerous arrow-shaped leaves clasp stem & are spiny toothed.
Special: Not native; invasive. Seeds have parachutes of soft cottony hairs, & birds are fond of them.   BACK

Squawbush
Bloom: February–June
Description: Deciduous shrub with clumping habit.
Special: Native. Related to Poison Oak. Brilliant yellow to red fall color.   BACK
Sticky Chinese Houses
Bloom: March–May
Description: 4–24". Leaves opposite, lance-shaped (sometimes toothed). Pea-like flower clusters in distinct layers. Flowers are almost 1". The 2-lipped corolla is pale lilac, pink, or purple; upper lip lighter, with many maroon dots at base.
Special: Native; limited to California. Named for the structure of the flowers, in perfect rings widely spaced around the stem, forming a fairytale pagoda. Likes sandy soil, shaded flats or slopes.   BACK
Sunflower

Bloom: June–September
Description: Annual herb, 2–13'. Hairy stems commonly branched in the upper half. Lower leaves ovate, often heart-shaped, usually with irregular teeth; upper leaves smaller & narrower. Flower heads 3–5", central maroon disk surrounded by many bright yellow rays.
Special: Native. Heads follow the sun (Spanish name means "looks at the sun."). Yellow dye from flowers and black or dull-blue dye from seeds were once important in native basketry & weaving.   BACK

Tocolote

Bloom: May–January
Description: Annual herb, 1–5'. Yellow flower heads (½–¾"), with long spines (¾") below. Cottony-haired leaves linear, extending down the stem. Well branched.
Special: Not native; invasive. Very similar to Yellow Star Thistle.   BACK
Tumbleweed

Description: Annual herb.
Special: Not native; invasive.   BACK
Valley Oak

Description: Tree, 40–100'. Largest of the western deciduous oaks. Short stout trunk, 3–4' diameter; large, widely spreading branches that may droop to the ground. Branches sometimes grow into loops and knots. Leaves elliptical, deeply 7- to 11-lobed, dark green & nearly hairless above, paler & finely hairy beneath. Bark is light gray or brown, deeply furrowed & broken horizontally into thick plates. Prefers rich loam soils.
Special: Native. Acorns (1½–2¼" are consumed by wildlife, and formerly by California Indians. Photographed at Oak Creek.   BACK

Western Redbud

Bloom: Spring
Description: Large shrub or small tree to 16', 4" diameter. Long-stalked leaves are nearly round (1½–3½"), dark green above, paler below. Bark gray, smooth, becoming fissured. Flowers (½") are pealike, purplish-pink in clusters of 2–5, appearing before the leaves. Purple or brown pods (2-3–½") mature in late summer & split along one edge. They hang in clusters, revealing beanlike seeds.
Special: Native. Indians made bows from the wood. Deer like the foliage.   BACK

Whiteleaf Manzanita
Bloom: February–April
Description: Shrub, up to 16'. Branches deep maroon, shedding in thin strips. Leaves leathery, pale or gray-green, ovate to elliptic, up to 1½" wide. Inflorescence is a cluster of many 3/8" urn-shaped, nodding flowers, pink to white. Brown fruits (which have sticky surfaces) look like tiny apples, hence its name (manzanita is Spanish for "little apples").
Special: Native. Fruits are a valuable wildlife food source (genus name is Greek for "bear berries"). Natives ate berries raw & dried. Pulp used to make cider. Skin tonic made from leaves to relieve poison oak rash. Flowers edible. Manzanitas thrive on poor, stony soil, including burned areas, especially on dry slopes, usually in full sunlight.   BACK
Wild Cucumber
Bloom: Midspring–Early Summer
Description: 6–20'. Vine. Male flowers are flat white stars. Large leaves have 5–7 pointed lobes and a U-shaped base. The melon is globe-shaped with many surface spines. Inside are 4 large seeds.
Special: Native. Seed is poisonous if ingested.   BACK
Wild Oats

Description: 2–3', occasionally up to 6'. Annual. Seeds hang from panicles.
Special: Not native; invasive. Very plentiful throughout the country, especially the west. Wildlife freely eat the seeds.   BACK

Woolly Milkweed

Bloom: May–June
Description: Perennial herb, ½–2'. Flowers pale yellow with white "pegs" in center. Long, oblong leaves in opposite pairs. Leaves and stems are white woolly-haired.
Special: Native; limited to California. Can cause minor dermatitis.   BACK

NOTES Four-Leaved Allseed AKA Four-Leaved Polycarp, Four-Leaved Manyseed Polycarpon tetraphyllum Pink family		NOTES Narrowleaf Cattail (Closeup)	Narrowleaf Cattail Typha latifolia Cattail family
NOTES Bird's-Foot Fern (Closeup)	Bird's-Foot Fern AKA Bird's-Foot Cliffbrake Pellaea mucronata Maidenhair Fern family	NOTES Bracken Fern, Leaves	Bracken Fern, Spores AKA Brake Fern Pteridium aquilinum Fern family
NOTES Nutsedge (Closeup)	Nutsedge AKA Strawcolored Flatsedge Cyperus strigosus Sedge family	NOTES Sorghum, Leaves	Sorghum, Seeds Sorghum bicolor Sorghum family
NOTES Tumbleweed (young plant) AKA Pigweed Amaranth Amaranthus albus Amaranth family	Unidentified, GB17

NOTES Bermuda Grass Cynodon dactylon Grass family	Bermuda Grass, Seed	NOTES Brome Grass 1 Bromus sp. (poss. B. rubens) Grass family	NOTES Brome Grass 2 Bromus sp. (poss. B. catharticus) Grass family
NOTES Rabbitsfoot Grass (Closeup)	Rabbitsfoot Grass AKA Beardgrass Polypogon monspeliensis Grass family	NOTES Italian Rye Grass (Closeup)	Italian Rye Grass Lolium multiflorum Grass family
NOTES Shiver Grass (Closeup)	Shiver Grass AKA Silvery Hairgrass Aira caryophyllea Grass family	NOTES Wild Oats	Wild Oats Avena barbata or A. fatua Grass family
Unidentified Grass, GB07		Unidentified Grass, GB19 (Closeup)	Unidentified Grass, GB19
Unidentified Grass, GB20 (Closeup)	Unidentified Grass, GB20

Brown Lichen, GB09	Gray Lichen, GB10	Gray Lichen, GB21	Green Lichen, GB20
Green Lichen on Quartz, GB11	Green Lichen, GB12	Orange Lichen, GB22

PLANTS

TREES/LARGE SHRUBS

SEEDS AND BERRIES

GRASSES

FUNGI

LICHENS

NOTES:

Fremont Cottonwood