California Native Plants

San Francisco is a county of microclimates, we have the Pacific and the Bay, the wind and the fog, cool winters with a few months of rain and a long dry summer period.  What survives this drought state are rugged species like the coyote bush and the sagebrush, the satiny red barked manzanita and flaming fuchsia. The Hollyleaf Cherry (Prunus ilicifolia), which gave Islais Creek its name, is now piped under the 280 freeway. Wildflower genus Clarkia was named after the explorer Captain William Clark who lead the Lewis and Clark Expeditions and whose journals illustrate the great fields of spring bloom. Native bunchgrasses like purple needlegrass & red fescue have largely been replaced in our landscape by European grasses imported accidentally on the hooves of cattle. Below ground our perennial grasses have large root systems sometimes going 15 feet into the soil. Bringing back the native flora has many benefits like erosion control and low water use.