Flowers, Grasses and Herbs
Baby Blue-eyes
Nemophila heterophylla is an annual herb with a fleshy but delicate and usually hairy stem. The bowl-shaped flower corolla is white or blue and a few millimeters (about 1/2 inch) to over a centimeter wide.
Bird’s Eye Gilia
Gilia tricolor is an annual flowering plant in the phlox family. It is native to the Central Valley and foothills of the Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges in California. Its native habitats include open, grassy plains and slopes below 2,000 feet (610 m). We found a specimen near the house in late June 2023.
Blue Dicks
Dichelostemma capitatum is a perennial herb that is native to California, and also found elsewhere in western North America. It is an herbaceous perennial growing from an underground corm to a height of as much as 60 centimeter. The flower cluster is head- or umbel-like, and dense. It usually contains 2 to 15 flowers, which have a blue, blue-purple, pink-purple, or white perianth. We found this specimen on the granite rock-outcropping in April 2023.
Blue-eyed Grass
Sisyrinchium bellum; Found on upper trail near granite rock-outcropping.
Blue Fiesta Flower
Pholistoma auritum is a species of flowering plant in the borage family which is known by the common name blue fiesta flower.
Bolander's Monkeyflower
Diplacus bolanderi is a hairy annual herb producing an erect stem reaching maximum heights anywhere from 2 to 90 centimeters. The lance-shaped to oval leaves are up to 6 centimeters long and arranged in opposite pairs about the stem. The base of the flower is encapsulated by a hairy ribbed calyx of sepals with pointed lobes. The flower has a tubular throat and a wide, five-lobed mouth. It is 1 to 3 centimeters long and pink in color, usually with blotches of white in the throat. We found a specimen in our orchard in May 2018.
Branching Phacelia
Phacelia ramosissima is a species of phacelia known by the common name branching phacelia. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California and the Southwestern United States, where it can be found in many types of habitat.
Bush Lupine
Lupinus albifrons is a perennial shrub, taking up about 2 ft of space and reaching 5 ft. It has a light blue to violet flower on 3–12 inch stalks. The leaves are silver with a feathery texture.
Butterfly Mariposa Lily
Calochortus venustus is a California species of flowering plants in the lily family. The species is endemic to California ranging from Shasta County to San Diego County, particularly common in the San Gabriel Mountains, the southern part of the Sierra Nevada, and the Coast Ranges between Oakland and Los Angeles. It thrives in the light, sandy soils of a number of habitats, both grasslands and open wooded areas, at 300–2,700 meters (980–8,860 ft) in altitude. We found a specimen on the fence line trail.
California Indian Pink
Silene laciniata ssp. californica, a dicot, is a perennial herb that is native to California, is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. Indian Pink is a foothill flower ranging up to about 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) elevation. The flowers are a couple inches in diameter, and usually a foot or less off the ground. They tend to grow in eye-catching clusters of a dozen or more flowers. We spotted a specimen on the main trail in early July 2019.
California Poppy
Eschscholzia californica is a perennial or annual plant with alternately branching blue-green foliage. The flowers are solitary on long stems with four petals. The flower color ranges through yellow, orange and red. It is the official state flower of California. We have many specimens around the house blooming throughout the summer months.
California Thistle
Cirsium occidentale var. californicum is a species of thistle endemic to California and in the sunflower family. The plant may be short or quite tall, forming low clumps. The leaves are dull gray-green to bright white due to a coating of hairs. The inflorescence at the top of the whitish stem holds one to several flower heads.
Canchalagua
Zeltnera venusta is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common names California centaury, charming centaury and canchalagua. This centaury is native to much of California and southern Oregon. It grows in many habitats up to elevations around 4000 feet (1300 m). It is an annual wildflower rarely reaching half a meter in height. The pointed oval leaves grow opposite on the thin stems. The inflorescence is tipped with one or more showy star-shaped flowers, each with a white-centered magenta corolla about 2 centimeters wide. We noted a specimen on the upper trail in late June 2019.
Chamomile
Chamomile is the common name for several daisy-like plants of the family Asteraceae. The specimens we found had escaped their containers and now grow wild around the house. This image was taken in late June 2019. Image by Peter Berg.
Clammy Clover
Trifolium obtusiflorum is a species of clover known that is native to California in the Peninsular, Transverse, Sierra Nevada, and the California Coast Ranges and Cascade Range into southwestern Oregon. It grows in moist habitat such as marshes and stream banks, and disturbed areas. We found this growing in our green house.
Common Fiddleneck
Amsinckia Intermedia. Amsinckia is a genus of flowering plants commonly known as fiddlenecks. The common name is derived from the flower stems, bearing many small flowers, which curl over at the top in a manner reminiscent of the head of a fiddle. Fiddlenecks are in the family Boraginaceae, along with borage and forget-me-nots. We had this growing out in the front of our property in March 2020.
Fivespot
Nemophila maculata is an annual herb that flowers in the spring. The leaves are up to 3 centimeters long and 1.5 wide, and are divided into several smooth or toothed lobes. The flowers are bowl-shaped, white with dark veins and dots. The lobe tips are purple-spotted. The corolla is 1 to 2 centimeters long and up to 5 centimeters wide.
Hairy Checkerbloom
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. We spotted a specimen near the granite rock outcropping in late May 2019.
Harlequin Lupine
Lupinus stiversii is a species of lupine known by the common name Harlequin Lupine. It is endemic to California, where it has a disjunct distribution in several separate mountain ranges. It is a plant of the Sierra Nevada and its foothills. We spotted a specimen on the upper trail near the granite outcropping in mid-May 2020. The plant was named for Army physician Dr. Charles Austin Stivers, who first collected it in 1862 near Yosemite.
Harvest Brodiaea
Brodiaea elegans is a species of flowering plant in the cluster-lily genus known by the common names harvest brodiaea, elegant brodiaea, and elegant cluster-lily. The bulb is native to the mountain ranges of California and Oregon, where it grows in woodlands and meadows. Brodiaea elegans is one of the later blooming wildflowers, often seen in May and early June. We found this on the main trail through the property in June 2018. Image by Peter Berg
Heermann's Tarweed
Holocarpha heermannii is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Heermann's tarweed. It is endemic to California. The inflorescence is a spreading array of branches bearing clusters of flower heads. Each flower head is lined with phyllaries which are coated in large bulbous resin glands. They are hairy and sticky in texture. The head contains many yellow disc florets surrounded by three to 10 golden yellow ray florets. These plants were flowering all over the property during August and September.
Klamathweed
Hypericum perforatum, or Klamathweed and also known as perforate St John's-wort, common Saint John's wort and St John's wort, is a flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. This plant is sometimes used as a medicinal herb with possible antidepressant activity. This is a non-native plant. We noted a specimen on the main trail through the property in late June 2019. Image by Peter Berg
Larger Mountain Monkeyflower
Mimulus tilingii is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name Tiling's monkeyflower. It is native to much of western North America, from Alaska to California to New Mexico, where it grows in moist and wet habitat, such as streambanks and mountain meadows. We spotted a specimen near our granite rock outcropping in late May 2019.
Long-beaked Filaree
Erodium botrys starts from a flat rosette of highly lobed green leaves on red petioles. It bears small flowers with hairy, pointed sepals surrounding five purple-streaked lavender petals.
Miner's Lettuce
Claytonia perfoliata is also know as Indian Lettuce, Spring Beauty, and Winter Purslane. We have this growing all around the house. The plant first appears in sunlit areas after the first heavy rains of the year, though the best stands are found in shaded areas, especially in the uplands, into early summer. As the days get hotter and drier, the leaves turn a deep red color as they dry out. When in season we have eaten this in our salads.
Popcornflower
Plagiobothrys nothofulvus is an annual herb growing erect 20 to 70 centimeters in maximum height. It contains purple sap, the herbage edged with purple or rusty red and bleeding purple when crushed. The leaves are mostly located in a rosette around the base of the stem, with a few alternately arranged along the stem's length. The inflorescence is a series of tiny five-lobed white flowers each 3 to 9 millimeters wide.
Purple Nightshade
Solanum xanti is also known as chaparral nightshade and San Diego nightshade. It is a member of the genus Solanum and is native to the Western United States in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Oregon. The plant grows in chaparral, oak woodlands, and conifer forests. It is a perennial herb producing a branching hairy stem up to about 35 inches in maximum height. It flowers from February to June in the wild, bearing an umbel-shaped inflorescence with many purple-blue flowers. The plant is drought-tolerant and deer resistant.
Rose Clover
Trifolium hirtum is a species of clover known by the common name rose clover. It was introduced to California from Turkey in the 1940s as a forage crop, and today it is a widespread roadside weed there. We had this growing throughout our property in May 2019.
Sky Lupine
Lupinus nanus is also known as Dwarf or Field Lupine and is native to the western United States. It grows on slopes or in open or disturbed areas below 4000 feet. At Foxtail Farm it is found most everywhere and starts to bloom late April continuing through May.
Tidy Tips
Layia Platyglossa is an annual wildflower of the family Asteraceae, native to western North America. The wildflower is used in habitat restoration projects, and is a pollinator supportive plant. The ripe seeds are a food source for birds. We had several specimens bloom in late April 2020.
Tincture Plant
Collinsia tinctoria is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common names sticky Chinese houses and tincture plant. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the woodlands and forests of the mountain ranges of the central and northern regions of the state.Tincture Plant also exhibits a wider variety of colorations. It ranges from mostly white with occasional light purple accents to primarily purple. The throat is a creamy yellow, but can be nearly white on some flowers, while on others, there's no white at all on the lower flower. The leaves also vary, ranging from conventional green to poinsettia red. We viewed a specimen near our seasonal pond in late June 2019.
True Baby Stars
Leptosiphon bicolor also known as true babystars, is a low annual flowering plant with clumps of needle-like leaves. Populations often contain both white-flowered and pink-flowered plants. It is native to the west coast of North America from northern Baja California to southern British Columbia. We had specimens growing throughout our property in May 2019. Image by Calphoto.
Tufted Poppy
Eschscholzia caespitosa is a species of poppy known by the common names foothill poppy, tufted poppy and collarless California poppy. It is native to western North America from Oregon, across California, to Baja California where it is a member of the chaparral plant community. We spotted a specimen in May 2020.
Turkey Mullein or Dove Weed
Croton setigerus, a dicot, is an annual herb that is native to California. The squat plant has furry, feltlike, hexagon shaped leaves, pale pink green in color. The foliage is toxic to animals. The seeds, however, are very palatable to birds. The common names of the plant come from the affinity of doves and wild turkeys for the seeds. This plant grows everywhere around the property.
Western Bracken Fern
Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens is a species of fern occurring in temperate and subtropical regions in both hemispheres. The extreme lightness of its spores has led to its global distribution. We found a specimen on our main trail through the property in August 2018.
Whitetip Clover
Trifolium variegatum is a species of clover known by the common name whitetip clover. It is native to western North America from southern Alaska and British Columbia to Baja California, where it occurs in many types of habitat. The flower corolla is generally purplish in color and usually has a white tip. We spotted a specimen in May 2019 on our granite rock outcropping.
Wild Barley
Hordeum murinum is a species of grass commonly called Foxtail. This grass is common in weedy areas around roads, paths, and other disturbances. It is an annual, and is soft and green from January through March or April. We named our place Foxtail Farm since if we could grow nothing else, we could certainly grow foxtails.
Williamson's Clarkia
Clarkia williamsonii is a species of flowering rejoin soendemic to California, where it is known from the forests and woodlands of the northern and central Sierra Nevada foothills. We found these on the upper trails areas of the property. This image was taken in late June 2019. Image by Peter Berg.
Woolly Mule's Ears
Wyethia mollis is a coarse perennial herb native to the mountains of northern California. We identified several specimens around the house in June 2018.
Woolly Mullein
Verbascum thapsus is also known as Great Mullein is a non-native species that is a hairy biennial plant that can grow to 2 m tall or more. Its small, yellow flowers are densely grouped on a tall stem, which grows from a large rosette of leaves. It grows in a wide variety of habitats, but prefers well-lit, disturbed soils, where it can appear soon after the ground receives light, from long-lived seeds that persist in the soil seed bank. It is a common weedy plant that spreads by prolifically producing seeds, but it rarely becomes aggressively invasive, since its seeds require open ground to germinate.
It is widely used for herbal remedies, with well-established emollient and astringent properties. Mullein remedies are especially recommended for coughs and related problems, but also used in topical applications against a variety of skin problems. We found a specimen near our orchard.