Willow Ecological Role: Salix lucida · sagewort, dream plant, wormwood. Habitat: Mugwort is...

. WillowSalix lucida

Other Names:Red willow, black willow, whiplash willow, golden willow, caudate willow, western black willow, waxy willow, western shining willow, and Salix lasiandra.

Habitat:Grows best in sunny places, scattered at low elevations, and along major rivers. Often found in riverbanks, floodplains, creeks, lakeshores, and wet meadows.

Plant Anatomy:Small tree with narrow flat leaves and extremely flexible branches.

Characteristics:Lifespan: up to 75 yearsHeight: up to 50 ftWidth: up to 30 ftBloom Time: May to June

Ecological Role:

• Often planted along stream banks to help

prevent erosion in riparian areas.

• These trees provide shade and create a cool

habitat for aquatic macroinvertebrates.

• Willows provide food and cover for many

deer, rabbits, and other wildlife species.

Pollination:

Mostly occurs by the wind moving pollen.

Flowers are an important source of nectar for

bees in the early spring, a time when few other

plants are flowering. Attracts bees, butterflies,

and nesting birds.

Adaptations:

Willows can grow roots from cuttings or when

branches are broken by floods. This increases

their abundance!

Interesting Facts:

• Used by Indigenous peoples to weave baskets

and fences.

• Willow bark contains salicylic acid, the

chemical compound that makes up aspirin.

USDA, NRCS. 2020. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 21 April 2020). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2020, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on April 28, 2020.Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals, including the Consortium of California Herbaria. [web application]. 2020. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/

California Black WalnutJuglans californica hindsii

Habitat:Needs moist, well-drained, and deep soil that is rich in organic matter. Black Walnut is a shade intolerant tree and must have direct sunlight to grow best.

Plant Anatomy:Dark brown and deep grooved bark. Many parted leaves and green fruits that ripen into walnuts in the fall.

Characteristics:Lifespan: up to 150 yearsHeight: 70 to 150 feet tallWidth: 2 to 8 feetBloom Time: March to June

Ecological Role:The seeds produced by this tree are a food source for wildlife and humans.

Pollination: Pollen is spread by wildlife, wind, and water.

Adaptations: • Some animals store nuts in the soil for winter.

For example, squirrels carry the seed from beneath the tree and bury them in different areas. Normal freezing and thawing usually causes the seed to break the following spring allowing for a new tree to grow.

• Black walnut produces a toxin, known as “juglone,” it prevents other plants from growing around it.

• A deep, wide spreading root system supports this large tree.

Interesting Facts: • A large mature tree produces high-quality

and valuable hardwood. • The bark is used by Chippewa and Cherokee

peoples to make brown and black dyes.

USDA, NRCS. 2020. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 21 April 2020). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.

California Box ElderAcer negundo californicum

Other Names:Ash-leaf maple, Western Boxelder, Manitoba maple, Boxelder Maple.

Habitat:Box Elders are often found near rivers in locations with heavy, wet soils, that are seasonally flooded (up to 30 days).

Plant Anatomy:Tree bark is light gray-brown with shallow, long, and narrow cracks that become wrinkly. Twigs on this tree are thinner than other trees.

Characteristics:Lifespan: normally up to 60 years, rarely 100 yearsHeight: 35 to 80 feetWidth: 1 to 3 feetBloom: February to March

© 2009 Neal Kramer

Ecological Role:• This fast-growing tree has a wide root system

that can hold soil in place, making it valuable for erosion control.

• The many seeds it produces are important winter food for birds and small mammals, deer search to eat saplings.

• The quick growth of this tree and ability to survive in urban locations, allows humans to rapidly shade neighborhoods and riparian habitats.

Pollination: The flowers are wind pollinated but also visited by bees. The seeds are spread by wind.

Adaptations:The seed type is samara. The winged shape of the samara is aerodynamic. This allows the wind to efficiently carry the seed further away from the parent tree.

Interesting Facts: • The tree trunk can be tapped to produce a

sweet syrup. • Wood of Boxelder is light and soft. It is used

to make crates and pulp for cardboard boxes.• Young saplings (baby trees) of Box Elder look

like poison ivy, so the two are often confused.


California Bay LaurelUmbellularia californica

Other Names:Balm of heaven, cinnamon bush, laurel, pepperwood,mountain laurel, myrtle, Oregon myrtle, peppernut tree.

Habitat:Bay trees reach their greatest size in deep, muddy soilsnear rivers. They grow well in full sun or deep shade. California laurel trees can tolerate dry conditions but are known to dieback during droughts.

Plant Anatomy:Leaves are glossy, dark-yellow to green, thick, and leathery. When crushed, the leaves give off a strong peppery smell. The greenish to reddish brown bark, which is thin and smooth on young trees, begins to peel and shed as the trees get older. This tree is an evergreen, keeping its leaves all year long!

Characteristics:Lifespan: more than 150 years Height: 10 to 150 feet Width: 2 to 10 feetBloom: February to May

Ecological Role:• Deer eat the leaves and twigs; they are high in protein.

Birds, squirrels, and other small mammals eat the seeds. Wild pigs eat the seeds and the roots.

• The trees provide shelter for wildlife.• California laurel has been used to restore wildlife

habitat, riparian vegetation, and to prevent flooding along streams, rivers, and creeks.

Pollination: Small insects like beetles and bees carry pollen from tree to tree.

Adaptations:California bay laurel trees can regrow after fires because they can grow from the root. Also, the number of seeds that will sprout increase after fires.

Interesting Facts: • Leaves have been used by Pomo and Yuki tribes to treat

headaches by placing a single leaf over the nostril opening. Branches and leaves can be placed around the yard to discourage fleas.

• This tree is in the same family as avocados.• California laurel is a high-quality wood that is used for

furniture.• Seeds have nuts that can be roasted, eaten and made

into flour.


California BlackberryRubus Ursinus

Other Names:California blackberry, California dewberry, Douglas berry, Pacific blackberry, Pacific dewberry and trailing blackberry.

Habitat:Grows best below 3,000 feet of elevation. Needs moist, wet soils. Grows in riparian habitats surrounded by willows and cottonwood.

Plant Anatomy:Vine like shrub with five petal white to pinkish flowers that turn into a blackberry fruit. It has dark-green, hairy, and toothed along the margins leaves that grow in groups of three to five. The vine has small, fine thorns on a rounded stem. Roots occur in the top 5 inches of soil but a few are up to 3 feet deep.

Characteristics:Lifespan: up to 15 years Height: 3 to 6 feetWidth: up to 23 feet longBloom: March to July

Ecological Role:• Provides shelter for birds and small mammals. • The sweet, edible blackberry provides food for wildlife. • Stems and leaves are an important food source for deer

during the fall and winter.

Pollination: Honeybees, bumble bees, and hummingbirds spread the pollen, as well as, the wind.

Adaptations:• Seeds are spread by the wildlife that eat the

blackberries, digest them, and drop the seeds onto soil.• Roots at the stem and below the surface result in many

sprouts that grow and spread quickly after a fire.• Many seeds drop onto the soil and can grow at different

times. This is called seed banking.

Interesting Facts: • A purple to blue color dye is produced from the fruit.• Blackberries contain antioxidants that strengthen our

immune system.


California PoppyEschscholzia californica

Other Names:California golden poppy, golden poppy, flame flower, cup of gold.

Habitat:California poppy grows in different habitats including the coast, valleys, foothill grasslands, and oak savannas. The same plant can sometimes come back year after year.

Plant Anatomy:Flowers are orange to yellow, sometimes with darker orange centers. Poppies have long, narrow, furrowed, and cylindrical seed pods. Flowers have four petals and are shaped like a cup. This plant grows a taproot. This is a long, thick, and centered root from which other roots sprout on the sides.

Characteristics:Lifespan: Flower lasts for about 10 daysHeight: Plant is about 8 inches tallWidth: Flowers are 2 inches wideBloom: February to September

Ecological Role:The pollen and nectar from the flowers are an important food source for insect pollinators.

Pollination: Common pollinators include native bees, bumble bees, mining bees, honeybees, thrips, hover flies, butterflies, minute pirate bugs, and beetles.

Adaptations:• The flowers close on cloudy days and at night and

reopen when the sun is out. • The seed pods burst open spreading the small seed up

to 6 feet from the parent plant. A seed pod can have from a few seeds up to 100 seeds.

• Very adaptable to changes in temperature, amounts of rain, and types of soil.

Interesting Facts: • The California Poppy became the official state flower of

California in 1903.• The flowers and stem can be made into a tea to help

relax and soothe headaches. The flowers are high in antioxidants and can be chewed as a gum or candy.

• This plant is not closely related to the poppies that produce seeds used for cooking.

• Indigenous peoples use the rich pollen of the flowers as eye shadow or body paint for special occasions.


California MugwortArtemisia douglasiana

Other Names:mugwort, western mugwort, Douglas’ mugwort, sagewort, dream plant, wormwood.

Habitat:Mugwort is commonly found in riparian habitats. This shrub needs sunlight, it will not survive in exclusively shady sites.

Plant Anatomy:Shrub with leaves that are green on top and silvery-white underneath with many hairs. The leaves have a strong smell. Flowers are green to yellow to red and grow in clusters.

Characteristics:Lifespan: many yearsHeight: 6 inches to 5 feet Width: up to 2 feetBloom: May to October

Ecological Role:• Wildlife feeds on the seeds when they are available.• This shrub is used as a perching spot by birds and for

nesting material once the plant has died.

Pollination: Native bees visit the flowers for pollen and nectar.

Adaptations:• The leaf smell can be unpleasant and their taste too

bitter for deer, rabbits, and other wildlife. They will avoid eating them.

• Shrubs can grow in different types of soil. • It rarely creates seeds. It dies back in the winter cold

months and in the summer drought, the roots will then regrow the plant when water is available and there are warmer temperatures in the spring.

Interesting Facts: • Used to treat poison oak rashes.• The name "dream plant" comes from many California

Indian tribes who have used it to improve people's dreams by placing leaves under pillows.


California Wild GrapeVitis californica

Other Names:Northern California grape, and Pacific grape.

Habitat:Common near streams, springs, and canyons. Usually found in areas with part shade and access to full sun.

Plant Anatomy:Grows as a shrub or vine. The stem is most hairy when young and less hairy as it ages. Flowers can be white, green, or yellow later turning into a purple fruit.

Characteristics:Lifespan: 50 to 100 yearsHeight: 10 to 40 feet tallWidth: 1 feetBloom: May to June

Ecological Role:• The fruits are a critical late summer and fall food source

for coyote, skunk, wood ducks, California quail, and cedar waxwing.

• In habitat restoration projects, since California wild grape grows quickly, it provides fast shelter and food for wildlife.

Pollination: Native bees and moths greatly benefit from the pollen and nectar from the flowers, as well as, birds and butterflies.

Adaptations:• Grape roots can grow more than 20 feet deep to get

access to water. • Leaves need full sunlight to create food for the plant, so

the grape vines will stretch up through the trees to get to it. The vines often grow up toyon trees and coast live oak trees.

Interesting Facts: • Wild grapes can be eaten raw, or made into jellies, jams,

and pies. • Leaves can be used as an edible wrap for food.• Most commercial wine grapes grown throughout the

world are grafted (attached) onto the root trunk of the California wild grape because it is resistant to phylloxeraaphids. A tiny bug that feeds by sucking nutrients from plants.


Spiny CockleburXanthium spinosum

Other Names:Common cocklebur, hitchhiker.

Habitat:Cocklebur grows along roadsides, fences, the beds of dry ponds, and flood prone land along streams and rivers as the result of the burs having been washed in.

Plant Anatomy:Stems are thick and may have purple or black spots. Clusters of small green to rusty red flowers grow where the top leaf meets the stem. Flowers will turn to burs (seed pods). The burs are green to yellowish and have spikes. Two seeds are found in each bur, one seed is larger than the other.

Characteristics:Lifespan: up to 5 yearsHeight: up to 3 feet tallWidth: 1 feetBloom: July to October

Ecological Role:Cocklebur seeds and seedlings are poisonous to cattle, sheep, horses, and pigs.

Seed Dispersal: They mostly spread by water, because the burs contain air spaces that allow them to float for up to 30 days.

Adaptations:• Cocklerburs can grow in most environments and can

tolerate many soil types.• This type of weed produces large burs covered with

prickles with sharp spines that can “hitchhike” on animal fur or human clothing.

• Seed banking is super important, each plant can produce several hundred to several thousand seeds.

Interesting Facts: • A member of the sunflower family.• Cocklebur is known as an agricultural weed in the fields

of corn, cotton, rice, sugar beets, sugarcane, and wheat because it decreases the harvest of these plants.

• George de Mestral, Swiss electrical engineer, was inspired by stiff hooks of cocklebur when he created Velcro.

• Used as a source of yellow pigment.


Fremont cottonwoodPopulus fremontii

Ecological Role:• Very important habitat for wildlife including beavers (to

build dams, also makes up most of their diet), birds and raptors (for nesting).

• When the tree starts to die, bats may use the hollowed trunk as a cave, and bears have used it for hibernation.

• Cottonwoods grow along the edge of streams, preventing the river from cutting a straight path (channeling), this allows for water to infiltrate underground.

Seed Dispersal: In Spring, seeds float with the wind like fluffy cotton balls (how it got its name).

Adaptations:• Leaves shake in the wind because their stems are flat

resulting in effective wind pollination. • Cottonwood trees need gravel or sand bars for access to

moist soil. Roots hold sediment in place, preventing soil loss and creating gravel and sand bars. As a result, they create habitat for aquatic macroinvertebrates and improve water quality by filtering and trapping sediment, nutrients, and pollutants.

Interesting Facts: • A branch of this tree can be planted to grow another

tree.• When tapped, the sweet sap can be eaten raw or

cooked.

Other Names:poplar, Alamo cottonwood.

Habitat:Grows near streams, rivers, and wetlands in the American Southwest.

Plant Anatomy:When the tree is young, the bark, branches, and twigs are smooth, they get deeply furrowed as it gets older. Green, heart-shaped leaves. Golden-yellow leaves often fall to the ground during Summer time.

Characteristics:Lifespan: up to 150 yearsHeight: up to 120 feet Width: up to 5 feetBloom: February to March


Dutchman’s Pipevine Aristolochia californica

Other Names:California pipe vine, California pipevine, Dutchman's pipe.

Habitat:Commonly found in moist areas around Northern and Central California woods, creeks, and streams, as ground cover.

Plant Anatomy:This vine has heart-shaped leaves and one-inch purple striped pipe-shaped flowers.

Characteristics:Lifespan: more than 2 yearsHeight: can climb up to 35 feet Width: can spread up to 35 feet Bloom: January to April

Ecological Role:Host plant for the Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly. This butterfly depends completely on the California Dutchman’s pipe vine for shelter and food as it grows from larva to adulthood.

Pollination: Gnats and beetles dive into the flower and cover themselves in pollen.

Adaptations:• Insects are attracted to the unpleasant scent and

colored petals that make up the flowers. • Dutchman's pipevine flowers are covered with hairs on

the inside. Hairs keep insects trapped inside until they drop off pollen from last flower and become covered with new pollen. After this, the flower will shrivel up and fall apart, releasing the insect.

Interesting Facts: • Dutchman’s Pipe is the Only Pipevine Native to

California. • Some species of Dutchman’s Pipevine are used as reptile

repellents and as treatment for snake bites.

© 2015 Judy and Barry Breckling


Willow Ecological Role: Salix lucida · sagewort, dream plant, wormwood. Habitat: Mugwort is...

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