Collinsia are annual flowering plants in the same family as Penstemon (Plantaginaceae). These plants flower from late spring through summer. There are 18 species of Collinsia found in California, most of which are native to the Sierra Nevada or the coast.

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.

Walking through the Communities, you may come across these bright magenta flowers. Charming centaury is an annual herb that is endemic to California. It grows along the coast from San Francisco Bay to Santa Barbara. It is also found on the Channel Islands. If you look closely at the flowers, you may notice how the stamens (has pollen) are a cork-screw shape!

It is flowering season for members of the Cactus family such as the Beavertail Prickly Pear! Enjoy the bright flowers as you walk through the California Communities and other parts of the Garden with desert plants.

This evergreen shrub is part of the Hydrangea family. The flowers look a lot like the Matilija Poppy, however, they are not closely related (the Matilija Poppy is in the Poppy family).

This annual plant is related to sages in the genus Salvia. It is native to California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Baja California. The leaves are basal, and purple flowers are formed on stalks that look a lot like those of fellow Salvia's.

This plant may not look like your typical sunflower, but it is part of the Asteraceae family. It is native to the coasts of western North America from Washington to Baja California. The quaint white flowers are often used in flower arrangements.

Although many thistles are invasive, this one is native to California! Look closely to see the distinct cobwebby hairs (but don't touch- they have sharp spines).

Grows low to the ground and has showy white flowers that turn pink with age. It's native to the southwestern US and Baja California, found in chaparral, higher elevation deserts and woodlands. It prefers to grow in sandy or gravely soils.

California has several species of native sages, usually shrubs with purple flowers and very fragrant leaves. Pictured here is Baja sage, Salvia chionopeplica.

Besides its outstanding blooms, California buckeye is notable for being summer deciduous. To conserve water during the driest part of the year, California buckeye will drop all its leaves and go dormant until the winter rains.

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 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.

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.

These flowering perennials stand up tall and slender with their long narrow leaves that whorl around their stems. They produce clusters of white to light lavender flowers that eventually form smooth pods that burst open casting out fluffy fruit that floats on the wind. They are an important plant for the Monarch butterfly as they are host plants for their larval stage of life. Milkweed provides a source of food for the Monarch caterpillar and shelter when it is time to pupate. By planting this milkweed, you will be sure to see Monarchs and other native butterfly species visit your garden.

Native to southern California, this flower comes up on its own throughout the garden. Low-growing, with large, sweet yellow flowers, its definitely worth looking for!

In greek mythology, Iris was the goddess of the rainbow serving as messenger to the Olympian Gods. The scientific name for the Iris genus is super easy to remember because it’s the same as the common name, Iris!

Did you know there are native California roses? There are several species throughout California, and here at the garden!

Our state flower can, of course, be found throughout the Garden! While showy, the petals close at night or during cloudy days. In areas with cold winters, the plant acts as an annual but acts as a perennial where the winters are mild. Watch out for flashes of bright orange petals and happy pollinators!

An incredible 3-inch-wide yellow flower is an unforgettable sight to see on a tree. During peak bloom these plants can be more yellow than green! These flowers sometimes produce so much nectar that you can see squirrels drinking from them. There are two flannel bush species in the Garden, several cultivars, and even a hybrid of one with another genus.

The eye-catching ceanothus are giant shrubs in the genus of the same name, and have wrinkled, oval shaped, sometimes spiky leaves and big, beautiful clusters of fragrant blue, purple, or white tiny flowers. They grow in well-drained soils across Western North America, but particularly here in California. You’ll often see ceanothus in gardens and along streets since it is fast-growing and drought tolerant. Ceanothus plants have been used by Native Americans for many medicinal reasons: to help with poison oak, for gynecological problems, foot injuries, and more!

Among the first to flower in Spring, lupines are beautiful shrubs of the genus Lupinus that have long stems, leaves that radiate out of the stems, and beautiful pea-shaped flowers that encircle the stems and come in a variety of colors. Sometimes referred to as “the wolf bean,” lupines can be found in a variety of habitats across 5 continents! There are more than 100 species of lupine that are native to California alone. Lupines are also great for bees and butterflies!

Beautiful and slender, the elegant clarkia has oval shaped leaves, fuzzy seed pods and buds, reddish stems, and a unique purple, pink, or sometimes red flower with 4 spade shaped petals. It only naturally grows in California and can be found in woodlands, especially under oak trees. This plant’s lovely flower is important for native bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies, such as the White-Lined Sphinx moth that you can see in our Butterfly Pavilion.

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.

Bearing beautiful flowers and delicious fruit, blue elderberry is a shrub or tall tree with green leaves with little spikes, small cream or yellow flowers in clusters, and purple edible berries that are available in the Fall. Blue elderberry grows in moist places in a large region: from Oregon to Baja California, and eastward to West Texas. Butterflies and bees love elder flowers, and many different types of birds and other small animals love its fruit. Elderberries could also be eaten and made into drinks and dyes.

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.

Common but nonetheless precious, deerweed is a shrub with small, narrow leaves and tiny, yellow or golden flowers that grow up the stems. These flowers redden towards the end of summer. Deerweed can be found in dry areas across Southwestern U.S. It has gotten its name since it is one of deer’s favorite foods, but this plant is also important for honey bees and butterflies. It also is important for habitat restoration after a wildfire; deerweed fixes nitrogen, a necessary nutrient for plants, back into the soil after a fire, thus making a way for other plants to grow in the area again.

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?

White sage is a shrub with green, waxy leaves that are covered in tiny white hairs and has clusters of fragrant white flowers on stalks. White sage can grow in a variety of places-dry slopes, foothills, canyons, and more- across Southern and Baja California. This plant continues to be used by Native Americans during ceremonies, and has many antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. White sage attracts many different kinds of butterflies and bees and, due to its medical properties, is also said to make a honey that is really healthy for you!

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.

The Chaparral yucca, also known as Our Lord’s Candle, is a tall shrub with agave-like leaves at its base and cream colored flowers on its single tall stalk. It is extremely drought tolerant and grows on dry, rocky soils in Southern California and Baja California. It attracts butterflies and has a specific moth, the California yucca moth, that pollinates it.This plant is also known as “the Swiss Army Knife of the Chaparral” because of its manifold uses. It was, and is, used by Native Americans as food, fuel, shoe, basket, and house building materials, and much more!

This elegant plant has “carpets” of tiny pink-white flowers that grow above its white-green leaves. It only naturally grows on California’s Channel Islands, in the fast-draining, moist, and rocky coastal scrub. St. Catherine’s Lace buckwheat is a very important food source for butterflies such as the Gray Hairstreak and for birds. In late summer and early fall its pinkish-white flowers get a new dark-orange color. This buckwheat has also traditionally been used by Native Americans to alleviate head and stomach aches.

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.

Spectacular penstemon, also known as showy penstemon, is famous for its rich colored, trumpet-shaped flowers, its fast growth rate, and its drought tolerance. They grow in well-drained and sunny areas in the southwestern U.S., particularly here in Southern California, and Baja California. Because of the shape and color of their flowers, they attract many different pollinators, including hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies such as the Variable Checkerspot.

Known for its durability and beautiful fragrant flowers, the Desert Willow is a tall shrub with long,green narrow leaves and pink or purple trumpet-like flowers. It grows in sandy areas and dry grasslands throughout the southwestern U.S. and Mexico. Desert willow is used in landscape design because of its beautiful flowers and nice form.

Also known as “the fried-egg plant”, the Matilija poppy is a beautiful, fragrant flower that only naturally occurs in California (both the U.S. state and the Mexican state, Baja California). It can be found in canyons and dried riverbeds, also known as washes. Their seeds can only germinate after a fire or heat-flash but once they’re planted they can keep growing, even after you try and remove them! This water wise plant is easily identifiable and has the largest flowers of any native California plant species.

These trees are famous for their beautiful, bright yellow flowers and smooth green trunks. It is a desert plant that grows in Southern California, Southern Arizona, and Northwestern Mexico, and whose flowers provide the much-needed shade, nectar, and seeds for bees, hummingbirds, and other wildlife. Did you know that Palo Verde trees drop edible seeds and flowers?

This drought-tolerant and lovely shrub has small, fuzzy leaves and white, small flowers that grow in dense clusters on the bush. It can be found growing all over sandy areas, such as canyons and dried riverbeds, throughout Central and Southern California. California buckwheat’s beautiful flowers change color from white to pink to burnt orange as the plant dries and the season progresses, and has been used by Native American communities as a medicine to alleviate head and stomach aches, promote heart health, and aid in digestion.