Plant Profile: White Flowering Currant (Ribes indecorum)
Karen Also called white chaparral currant, this deciduous shrub is native to Baha California and coastal areas of California. It is a member of the currant family, Grossulariaceae, that consists of…
Plants for a Plant Zoo: Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata aka Cassia fasciculata aka Cassia chamaecrista)
Also known as prairie senna, golden cassia, large-flowered sensitive pea, sleeping plant, and locust weed, this herbaceous annual is native to eastern North America and provides cover and food for…
Plant Profile: Squaw Currant (Ribed cereum)
Also known as white-flowered currant, wax currant, and western red currant, this deciduous spreading or erect shrub is native from British Columbia to northern California east to Montana, Nebraska, Colorado,…
Plant Profile: Our Lord’s Candle (Hesperoyucca whipplei aka Yucca whipplei)
Also known as chaparral yucca, foothill yucca, Spanish bayonet, and Quixote yucca, this evergreen shrub is native to Southern California and Baja California where it grows in chaparral, coastal sage…
Plants for a Plant Zoo: Rhinoceros Bush (Elytropappus rhinocerotis aka Dicerothamnus rhinocerotis)
Somebody thought this shrub or small tree had a connection with the ear of a rhinocerous, or so the common name and specific epithet suggest. The specific epithet, rhinocerotis, comes…
Plant Profile: Giant Wild Rye (Elymus condensatus aka Leymus condensatus)
This evergreen perennial grass is native to eastern Oregon, California, and northern Mexico, where it grows in coastal sage scrub, chaparral, southern oak woodland, foothill woodland, and Joshua tree woodlands.…
Butterflies in the Garden and How to Attract Them: Cabbage White (Pieris rapae)
One of the most widespread and common butterflies, the small cabbage white was accidently introduced from Europe to North American via Quebec in 1860 and has spread all over the…
Plant Profile: Threenerve Goldenrod (Solidago veluntina)
Native to western US and the northern half of Mexico, this herbaceous perennial is a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes sunflower, dandelion, and lettuce. With a…
Old Time Recipes for Home Made Wine: Cherry Cider
Apple and cherry flavors go well together and my paternal grandmother, Helen S. Wright included both in a list of ingredients for cherry cider in her 1909 book, Old Time…
Plant Profile: California Coffee Berry (Frangula californica aka Rhamnus californica)
Native to California, southwestern Oregon, Arizona and Baja California, this large evergreen shrub grows in open woodland, brush canyon sides, and chaparral. It is a member of the buckthorn family,…