This woody shrub is native to Baja California. It has bright red duster-like flowers and pea-like leaves that attract bees and hummingbirds. It is a drought tolerant plant and loves full sun.

Coyote brush is a common native shrub that grows from the coastal regions, the central valley, and the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada. In fruit, these plants look as if they are covered in a cloud of fluff. These fluffs are actually a collection of seeds that are easily dispersed by the wind. There are many cultivars of the coyote bush in the gardens. How many can you find?

The coastal redwood is one of the most unique plants in California! It is an evergreen tree that can live to be around 2,200 years old or more. These trees can grow to be 379 feet and have a diameter of 26 feet. It best lives in coastal California and Oregon where the winters are cool and the summers are foggy. For their impressive size their cones are quite small.

This plant from the sunflower family is a shrub native to coastal southern California and northern Baja. It is part of the chaparral and coastal sage scrub communities, living on dry mesas, canyons, and slopes. The showy yellow flowers of this plant can be seen most of the year.

The boojum tree is often considered to be the strangest tree on Earth which is native to Baja California and part of the Sonoran desert. It has a single conical stem with numerous small twigs around the whole tree. While it can live for centuries, it grows very slowly and can take 10 to 20 years to reach one foot in height. The boojum tree usually loses its leaves in drought and develops more when it starts to rain. In late summer, it develops yellow tubular flowers towards the top of the tree which attract insects and birds.

Soaproot is in the Agave (Agavaceae) family, with delicate white flowers. It grows in many habitats in California such as grasslands, chaparral, and woodlands. Like most agave, the leaves of this plant are a basal rosette, and when it flowers, it grows a tall stalk for the flowers to form on.

This evergreen species in the Rose family is native to coastal California and northern Baja California. It produces clusters of small white flowers that will grow into cherries if pollinated!

It is native to the West Coast of the United States from Washington to California, and into Baja California, Mexico.

A cypress tree with juniper "berries"!

A rose-relative native to the desert with white flowers and very unique, wispy fruits. These fruits have pinkish feathery styles that disperses with the wind. While found outside California, inside the state it is restricted to north of and within the Mojave National Preserve.

These yellow-flowered shrubs can be found in many places throughout CalBG, as well as coastal mountains in Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties.

What's that tree with no leaves that is covered in big fruits? That's the summer-deciduous California buckeye. While the large nuts of this plant are enjoyed by squirrels at the Garden, they are toxic to people. They have been used medicinally and as food in the past but leaching out the toxins and rendering them safe to consume is a very labor-intensive process.

There are 18 species of oaks growing in the garden. The fruit of an oak is called an acorn, which you'll likely see squirrels and maybe woodpeckers collecting and storing. In some years an oak will produce a huge number of acorns relative to other years. This is called masting. Years of very high acorn production overwhelm the animals that would eat them, so many of the acorns the animals store in those years are not eaten and have a chance to grow into new trees and shrubs.

Common sunflowers are the tall plants with yellow flowers that greet you in the Wildflower Meadow when you first step into the garden. This species is native to much of North America where it has been cultivated by Indigenous Americans for thousands of years. The sunflowers you grow with giant flowers are this same species but selectively bred for bigger flowers and thus the bigger, tasty sunflower seeds you eat.

The genus name Cercocarpus means tailed-fruit, which you can see in the photo is an appropriate name for this plant. The hairs on the tail help the fruit better catch the wind and blow it to new locations. The tail curls when dry and uncurls when moist. This change between curled and uncurled can actually drill the seed into the soil where it may grow to become a new shrub.

The sticky monkeyflowers are the only shrubby monkeyflowers in California and named for the often sticky leaves. These species have a wide variety of flower colors that are made even wider by cultivated hybrids. The garden has a nice sampling of both native species and cultivars derived from them. The most common color you'll see is orange but you can find flowers that are red or yellow. Try looking for them on the western portion of the loop trail in the CA plant communities garden.

Santa Catalina Island currant is a rare plant known from Santa Catalina Island, the southernmost parts of San Diego County, and Baja California. This currant is a common groundcover in shady areas of the garden. While the leaves of most currants are deciduous, this species has evergreen leaves making it suitable for gardeners who prefer not to have dormant, leafless plants in their garden part of the year.

Presumably named for the long-tubed yellow flowers, golden currant also has fruit that is sometimes golden. Interestingly, the ripe fruit of golden currant can range in color from yellowish orange to red to black, even in the same population. This shrub is common in the communities section of the garden.

The Joshua tree is an iconic member of the southern California flora. If you can't make it out to the desert, our garden is a perfect place to see these majestic plants! There are some particularly interesting examples in the California Habitats section of the garden.

Did you know that the California Floristic Province also includes part of Baja California in Mexico? Visit the Baja California section of the garden to see these beautiful pale blue palms and other species from the southernmost reaches of the California Floristic Province.

Beautiful any time of year due to their red bark and elegant form, manzanitas are most spectacular in the winter and early spring when in flower. There are ~35 species and even more cultivars of manzanita at California Botanic Garden. How many can you find?

The light purple colored pads of this cactus can add a beautiful contrast to the varying shades of greens of most cactus gardens. Come spring, the pops of fluorescent pink blossoms are a stand out sight. Although this prickly-pear cactus tends not to have spines, you still shouldn't touch it as it is covered in glochids. These small barbed bristles can be very irritating and difficult to remove once they have found their way into your skin!

Standing upright and branching, this cactus is found along rocky slopes of the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts. Its yellow-green stems are covered with straw colored, overlapping spines. Flowering in spring, it will produce flowers that are bright yellow at the center and fade into a rich bronze color at the outer edges.

This spiny cactus gets its name from its round, flat pads, similar to pancakes in shape. Plants tend to be at least as broad as tall, from three to eight feet. Its beautiful yellow blossoms will bloom in May, followed by magenta colored, fleshy fruit. When ripe, the fruit can be picked and used in syrups, candy, jellies and, yes, ice cream! Be cautious when planting near borders as the spines and glochids are sharp and can be difficult to remove!

Perhaps one of the most endangered trees in all of North America, this beautiful tree is native to Catalina Island. There are only seven known individuals left in the wild! Here at the garden, though, these trees are thriving!

De la Mina verbena, also known as purple Cedros Island verbena, is a beautiful shrub with green wrinkled leaves and fragrant, rich purple blossoms that grow in clusters on long stems. It only grows naturally on Cedros Island, off the coast of Baja California. However, it can grow in well-drained soils in South-western and Southern U.S. This lovely plant blooms almost year round, grows fast, and is drought tolerant.

Also known as beloperone, the vibrant chuperosa is a shrub with green, succulent-like leaves and lots of long, tubular flowers that come in different shades of red or sometimes yellow. Hardy and beautiful, chuparosa grows in hot, dry, and sandy or rocky places in Southern California, Arizona, and North-western Mexico. This plant also attracts a lot of hummingbirds and other birds. In fact, its name “chuparosa” meant “hummingbird” in Spanish!

Deliciously fragrant, woolly blue curls is a shrub with bright green and narrow leaves and rich blue and purple, curly, and woolly flowers that grow on stalks. Though they tend to grow towards the coast in western parts of California, they grow in dry, sunny areas in California and Baja California. This plant is very attractive to hummingbirds. Bees and butterflies, like the Variable Checkerspot butterfly, love it too! Its leaves are also said to make a very delicious tea.

Vibrant and beautiful, the island snapdragon is a shrub with bright red, tubular flowers that grow in clusters and smooth, lime-green leaves. It prefers coastal areas, but is a drought-tolerant plant that can grow in well-drained and rocky areas. Hummingbirds love its lovely flowers, and island snapdragon is fire resistant. It is also an endangered species and only grows naturally on the islands off the coast of Southern California and Baja California.

Bladderpod is a shrub with many branches, blue-green, circular leaves, and beautiful bright yellow flowers that grow in clusters. It tends to bloom year round and can be found from the coast to the deserts in Southern and Baja California. Named after its puffed up, edible seed pods, this hardy plant attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees. It also gives off an interesting fragrance that is a source of debate: some think the smell is pleasant while others think the complete opposite. Visit the bladderpod today and discover what you think of it!

Elegant with its bright red and yellow flowers, the Western Columbine is a beautiful addition to gardens. It is called by its scientific name Aquilegia formosa, which means “beautiful eagle,” since the flower’s shape resembles eagle talons, and this flower grows in moist, cool areas all across Western North America. Western Columbine is attractive to hummingbirds and has been eaten as a candy, used on bee stings, worn as a perfume, and more by Native American tribes.

The Channel Island tree poppy is a rare, tall shrub with beautiful, bright, and fragrant yellow flowers and smooth, silvery leaves. They grow fast in dry areas and they only grow naturally on the Channel Islands. Did you know that this drought-tolerant plants’ seeds germinate better after a fire?

Common and beautiful, the black sage is a shrub with dark green leaves and mildly fragrant purple, blue, or white flowers that are in raised clusters. It quickly grows in sunny and dry areas, especially near the coast, from Central California to Baja California. It also provides food for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, quail, and for us too! Black sage is famous for its honey. Sages are also famous for their medical properties; black sage has antimicrobial oils, is used to help with respiratory problems, is anti-inflammatory, and is used by Native Americans to treat arthritis.

This feathery ball of pink and white is actually a cluster of flowers. More interesting, whereas many flowers use bright colored petals or sepals to draw in pollinators, the fairy-duster has very small petals and uses the long, brightly colored stamens to attract pollinators.

The California brittlebush is hardy and tall with bright yellow flowers that form in clusters on thin stems. They can grow in a variety of places, including rocky or marshy areas, throughout California and Baja California. This perky plant grows fast, loves the sun, and is perfect for bees and butterflies like the Painted Lady.

A member of the mint family, coyote mint is a wildflower the size of a small shrub and has bright pink or purple flowers in round clusters and fragrant, crinkled leaves. They only naturally grow in California, in coastal, woodland, or rocky areas where they can get plenty of sun and enough shade and water. Coyote mint flowers and their fragrance attracts a lot of bees and a range of butterflies, including Mourning Cloak butterflies. Coyote mint can also be made into a strong mint tea and has been used by Native Americans to relieve sore throats, stomach aches, and respiratory issues.

Desert marigold and their tall, radiant yellow flowers are perfect pops of color in gardens. They thrive in dry, sunny, and rocky areas in the southwestern parts of the U.S. and in northern Mexico. Desert marigolds are not true marigolds (Tagetes spp.) but both are members of the aster family (Asteraceae).