Vascular Plants of the Elfin Forest

				B	C	H	P
			F	l	o	a	h
			o	o	l	b	o
			r	o	o	i	t
ID	Scientific Name	Common Name	m	m	r	t	o	Notes
1	Abronia maritima	Red sand-verbena	Gc	2-10	R	sd	▲
2	Abronia umbellata	Beach sand-verbena	Gc	5-10	P	sd	▲
3	Achillea millefolium	Yarrow	H	4-5	W	s	▲
4	Adenostoma fasciculatum	Chamise	S	3-8	W	c	▲
5	Alnus rhombifolia	White alder	T	6-8	I	r	▲
6	Amsinckia spectabilis	Seaside fiddleneck	H	2-6	Y	sd	▲
7	Anagallis arvensis ●	Scarlet pimpernel	Sh	3-6	O	d	▲
8	Anaphalis margaritacea	Pearly everlasting	H	6-8	W	s	▲
9	Arctostaphylos morroensis	Morro manzanita	T S	2-3	W	z	▲	Federal: Threatened
10	Artemisia californica	California sagebrush	S	4-12	W	sc	▲
11	Artemisia dracunulus	Wild tarragon	H	8-10	Y	d	▲
12	Asparagus asparagoides ●●	African asparagus fern	V	3-6	W	o		Very invasive in oak groves.
13	Astragalus pomonensis	Pomona milk-vetch	H	1-10	C	sd	▲
14	Atriplex patula	Spear oracle	H	7-11	I	m	▲
15	Atriplex watsonii	Watson’s saltbush	H	8-10	I	m	▲
16	Avena barbata ●	Slender wild oats	G	3-6	I	d	▲
17	Avena fatua ●	Common wild oats	G	3-6	I	d	▲
18	Baccharis pilularis	Coyote brush	S	3-12	Y	sc	▲	Male – yellow FL Female – white FL
19	Brachypodium distachyon ●●	False brome	G		I	d	▲
20	Brassica spp ● & ●●	Mustards	H	1-7	Y	d
21	Bromus carinatus	California brome	G	4-8	I	d	▲
22	Bromus diandrus ●●	Ripgut brome	G	4-7	I	d	▲
23	Bromus hordeaceus ●	Soft chess brome	G	4-7	I	d	▲
24	Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens ●●	Red brome	G	4-7	I	d	▲
25	Bromus tectorum ●●	Cheat grass	G	6-7	I	d	▲
26	Calandrinia ciliata	Red maids	H	2-5	R	d	▲
27	Calyptridium monandrum	Common pussypaws	H	3-6	R	d	▲
28	Calystegia macrostegia	Island morning glory	H	3-8	W	s	▲
29	Camissonia cheiranthifolia	Beach evening primrose	H	4-8	Y	sd	▲
30	Camissonia micrantha	Small evening primrose	H	4-8	Y	sd	▲
31	Camissonia spp	Sun cups	H	4-8	Y	sd
32	Cardamine californica	Milk maids	H	6-8	W	o	▲
33	Cardamine oligosperma	Bitter-cress	H	3-6	W	kr	▲
34	Cardaria draba ●●	Hoary cress	H	3-6	W	dm	▲
35	Cardionema ramosissimum	Sand-mat	Gc	4-8	I	s	▲
36	Carduus pycnocephalus ●●	Italian thistle	H	4-7	L	d	▲
37	Carex barbarae	Santa Barbara sedge	H	3-8	I	km	▲
38	Carex spp	Other sedges	H	3-8	I	km
39	Carpobrotus chilensis ●	Sea fig	H	4-9	P	d	▲
40	Carpobrotus edulis ●●	Hottentot fig	H	4-10	P	d	▲
41	Ceanothus cuneatus	Buck brush	S	1-4	W	c	▲
42	Centaurea melitensis ●●	Tocalote	H	3-9	Y	d	▲
43	Cerastium glomeratum ●	Mouse-ear chickweed	Sh	3-7	W	dc	▲
44	Chamomilla suaveolens ●	Pineapple weed	Sh	4-8	Y	d	▲
45	Chenopodium album ●	Lamb’s quarters	H	6-10	I	d	▲
46	Chenopodium californicum	California goosefoot	H	3-7	I	d	▲
47	Chorizanthe angustifolia	Narrow-leaf spineflower	Sh	3-7	W	d	▲
48	Chorizanthe diffusa	Diffuse spineflower	Sh	3-7	W	d	▲
49	Cirsium occidentale var.occidentale	Cobwebby thistle	H	4-7	P	so	▲
50	Cirsium vulgare ●●	Bull thistle	H	6-10	L	d	▲
51	Claytonia perfoliata	Miner's lettuce	Sh	2-5	W	oz	▲
52	Conicosia pugioniformis ●●	Narrow-leaved iceplant	Sh	5-10	Y	d	▲
53	Cotula coronopifolia ●	Brass buttons	H	3-12	Y	km	▲
54	Crassula connata	Pygmy-weed	Sh	2-5	W	sc	▲
55	Croton californicus	California croton	Sh	3-10	W	s	▲
56	Cryptantha clevelandii	Cryptantha	H	4-6	W	sc	▲
57	Cuscuta salina	Saltmarsh dodder	H V	4-10	W	m	▲	Parasitic
58	Cynodon dactylon ●	Bermuda grass	G	6-8	I	d	▲
59	Daucus pusillus	Wild carrot	H	4-7	W	s	▲
60	Deinandra corymbosa ssp. corymbosa	Coastal tarweed	Sh	3-5	Y	ds
61	Delairea odorata ●●	Cape ivy	H	3-7	Y	od	▲	Highly invasive. Formerly
								Senecio nikanioides
62	Descurainia pinnata	Yellow tansy mustard	H	3-7	Y	d	▲
63	Dichelostemma capitatum	Blue dicks	H	2-6	B	c	▲
64	Distichlis spicata	Saltgrass	G	4-7	I	m	▲
203	Dudleya caespitosa	Coast dudleya	H	5-7	Y	s, c	▲
65	Dudleya lanceolata	Coastal dudleya	H	5-7	Y	sc	▲
205	Dryopteris arguta	Wood fern	H		I	o,s	▲	Reproduces with spores
66	Ehrharta calycina ●●	Veldt grass	G	3-7+	I	d	▲	Spikelets reddish. Very invasive.
204	Ehrharta erecta ●●	Panic veldtgrass	G		I	d	▲	Unlike E. calycina grows in oak
								groves
67	Eleocharis spp	Spikerushes	H	5-7	I	kr
68	Epilobium ciliatum	Willow-herb	H	5-8	W	kr	▲
69	Equisetum telmateia	Giant horsetail	H	--	--	r	▲	Not a flowering plant
70	Eriastrum densifolium ssp. densifolium	Wooly star	H	6-10	B	s	▲
71	Ericameria ericoides	Mock heather	S	8-9	Y	s	▲
72	Eriogonum parvifolium	Dune buckwheat	S	5-10	W	s	▲	Flower ages to pink then rust
73	Eriophyllum confertiflorum	Golden-yarrow	S	2-7	Y	sc	▲
74	Eriophyllum multicaule	Many-stem woolly	Sh	3-5	Y	sc	▲
		sunflower
75	Eriophyllum staechadifolium	Seaside golden-yarrow	S	3-12	Y	s	▲
76	Erodium botrys ●	Storkbill filaree	H	3-5	L	d	▲
77	Erodium cicutarium ●	Red-stem filaree	H	2-5	P	d	▲
78	Erysimum insulare suffrutescens	Suffrutescent wallflower	H	3-5	Y	s	▲	CalFlora = Rare Species
79	Eschscholzia californica	California poppy	H	2-9	YO	sc	▲	Subspiecies maratima?
80	Eucrypta chrysanthemifolia	Eucrypta	H	5-6	W	sc	▲
81	Euphorbia peplus ●	Petty spurge	H	2-8	W	d	▲
82	Festuca arundinacea ●	Tall fescue	G	3-7	I	d	▲
83	Festuca californica	California fescue	G	4-7	I	c	▲
84	Festuca pratensis ●	Meadow fescue	G		I	d	▲
85	Foeniculum vulgare ●●	Fennel	H	5-9	Y	d	▲
86	Frankenia salina	Alkali heath	H	6-10	L	m	▲
87	Galium nuttallii	Climbing bedstraw	H	4-7	W	c
88	Geranium dissectum ●	Cut-leaf geranium	H	3-5	P	d	▲
89	Gnaphalium bicolor	Bicolored cudweed	H	1-6	C	s	▲
90	Gnaphalium californicum	California everlasting	H	1-7	WY	c	▲
91	Gnaphalium ramosissimum	Pink everlasting	H	6-9	P	sc	▲
92	Hedera helix ●●	English ivy	H		I	o	▲	Very invasive plant
93	Helianthemum scoparium	Peak rush-rose	S	4-8	Y	sc	▲
94	Hesperocnide tenella	Western nettle	H	1-4	I	oc	▲
95	Heteromeles arbutifolia	Toyon	T	1-4	W	c	▲
96	Heterotheca grandiflora	Telegraph weed	H	1-12	Y	so	▲
97	Hirschfeldia incana ●	Perennial mustard	H	3-10	Y	d	▲
98	Hordeum murinum ●	Foxtail barley	G	4-7	I	sc	▲
99	Horkelia cuneata ssp. cuneata	Wedgeleaf horkelia	H	3-7	WY	sc	▲
100	Hydrocotyle verticillata	Whorled marsh pennywort	Sh	3-8	Y	k	▲
101	Hypochaeris glabra ●	Smooth cat's ear	H	3-9	W	d	▲
102	Isocoma menziesii var. vernonioides	Menzie’s goldenbush	S	4-12	Y	sm	▲
103	Jaumea carnosa	Fleshy jaumea	H	5-12	Y	m	▲
104	Juncus acutus ssp. leopoldii	Southwestern spiny rush	H	5-12	I	m	▲	CalFlora: Rare species
105	Juncus bufonius	Toad rush	H	4-9	I	k	▲
106	Juncus spp	Rushes	H	6-7	I	mk		Most are native
107	Koeleria macrantha	Junegrass	H		I	ds	▲
108	Lamarckia aurea ●	Goldentop	G	2-5	I	d	▲	Flower golden to purplish
109	Layia hieracioides	Tall layia	H	4-5	Y	so	▲
110	Layia platyglossa	Tidy tips	H	3-6	WY	so	▲
111	Lepidium lasiocarpum	Hairy-pod peppergrass	Sh	3-5	Y	s	▲
	var. lasiocarpum
112	Lessingia filaginifolia	California aster	S	8-12	PY	sc	▲
113	Limonium californicum	Sea lavender	H	1-11	L	m	▲
114	Linaria canadensis	Blue toadflax	H	3-5	B	co	▲
115	Lobularia maritima ●	Sweet alyssum	H	1-12	W	d	▲
116	Lolium perenne ●	Perennial ryegrass	G		I	d	▲
117	Lonicera hispidula var. vacillans	California honeysuckle	V	4-7	P	o	▲
118	Lotus corniculatus ●	Birdfoot trefoil	H	1-9	Y	k	▲
119	Lotus junceus	Rush deerweed	S	4-6	Y	sc	▲
120	Lotus scoparius	Deerweed	S	3-8	Y	sc	▲
121	Lupinus arboreus	Yellow bush lupine	S	3-6	Y	s	▲
122	Lupinus bicolor	Miniature lupine	H	3-5	BW	sd	▲
123	Lupinus chamissonis	Silver dune lupine	S	3-7	BW	s	▲
124	Madia sativa	Coast tarweed	H	5-6	Y	c	▲
125	Malva parviflora ●	Cheeseweed	H	3-10	P	d	▲
126	Marah fabaceus	Wild cucumber	H	2-4	WY	sco	▲
127	Medicago polymorpha ●	Burclover	H	3-6	Y	d	▲
206	Melica imperfecta	Smallflower melicgrass	G	4-5	I	c, s	▲
128	Melilotus alba ●	White sweet-clover	H	4-10	W	d	▲
129	Melilotus indica ●	Yellow sweet-clover	H	4-10	Y	d	▲
130	Mesembryanthemum crystallinum ●●	Crystalline iceplant	H	3-10	W	dm	▲
131	Mimulus aurantiacus	Sticky monkey-flower	S	3-8	O	sc	▲
132	Mucronea californica	California spineflower	H	4-7	W	sc	▲	CNPS: Rare
133	Myrica californica	California wax-myrtle	T S	4-7	W	s	▲	Flower ages to pink
134	Oenanthe sarmentosa	Water parsley	H	6-10	W	k	▲
135	Orobanche fasciculata	Clustered broomrape	Sh	3-7	Y	s	▲	Parasitic
136	Paeonia californica	California peony	H	12-3	R	sc	▲
137	Parietaria hespera	Pellitory	H	3-5	R	s	▲
138	Phacelia spp	Phacelia	H	2-5			▲
139	Pholisma arenarium	Pholisma	H	4-8	WL	sc	▲	Parasitic
140	Pholistoma auritum	Fiesta flower	H	3-5	L	s	▲
141	Piperia elegans	Rein orchid	H	6-8	W	o	▲
142	Plagiobothrys nothofulvus	Popcorn flower	H	3-5	W	s	▲
143	Plantago lanceolata ●	English plantain	H	4-8	C	d	▲
144	Platanus racemosa	Sycamore	T	2-4	I	r	▲
145	Polycarpon depressum	Polycarp	Sh	4-6	W	sc	▲
146	Polygonum arenastrum ●	Common knotweed	H	5-11	W	d	▲
147	Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa	Black cottonwood	T	3-4	I	r	▲
148	Potentilla anserina	Silverleaf	H	5-10	Y	m	▲
149	Prunus fasciculata var. punctata	Dune almond	S	3-4	C	s	▲	Rare species
150	Prunus ilicifolia	Hollyleaf cherry	S	2-4	W	s	▲
151	Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens	Bracken fern	H		I	os	▲	Reproduces with spores
152	Quercus agrifolia	Coast live oak	T S	3-4	I	o	▲
153	Raphanus sativus ●	Wild radish	H	2-7	L	d	▲
154	Rhamnus californica	California coffeeberry	S	4-7	Y	s	▲
155	Rhamnus crocea	Redberry	S	3-4	C	s	▲
200	Ribes menziesii	Canyon gooseberry	S				▲
156	Ribes speciosum	Fuchsia-flowered	S	1-5	R	sc	▲
		gooseberry
157	Rosa californica	California wild rose	S	5-8	P	s	▲
158	Rubus ursinus	California blackberry	S	2-5	W	so	▲
159	Rumex acetosella ●	Sour-dock	H	3-8	O	d	▲
160	Rumex crispus ●	Curly dock	H	4-8	Y	d	▲
202	Ruppia maritima	Ditch Grass					▲	In salt water ponds
161	Salicornia virginica	Pickleweed	H	7-11	W	m	▲
162	Salix lasiolepis	Arroyo willow	T S	2-5	I	r	▲
163	Salix lucida ssp. lasiandra	Shining willow	T	3-5	I	r	▲
164	Salvia columbariae	Chia	H	3-6	B	sc	▲
165	Salvia mellifera	Black sage	S	4-7	W	sc	▲
166	Salvia mellifera	Sanicle	H	3-4	Y	sc	▲
167	Schismus arabicus ●	Mediterranean grass	H		I	d	▲
168	Scirpus acutus var. occidentalis	Tule	H	5-8	I	k	▲
169	Scirpus americanus	American threesquare	H	6-8	I	k	▲
170	Scirpus californicus	California tule	H	6-9	I	k	▲
171	Scirpus cernuus	Dwarf bulrush	H	6-7	I	k	▲
172	Scirpus microcarpus	Small-headed bulrush	H	3-7	I	k	▲
173	Scirpus robustus	Bulrush	H	6	I	k	▲
174	Scrophularia californica	California figwort	H	2-6	R	co	▲
175	Scutellaria tuberosa	Common skullcap	H	3-5	B	s	▲
176	Senecio blochmaniae	Dune ragwort	H	6-10	Y	s	▲	Rare species in Forest.
177	Senecio californicus	California groundsel	H	3-5	Y	s	▲
178	Setaria viridis ●	Green bristlegrass	G	6-8	I	d	▲
179	Silene gallica ●	Windmill pink	H	4-10	WP	d	▲
180	Silene laciniata ssp. major	Indian pink	H	5-6	R	s	▲
181	Solanum douglasii	White nightshade	H	5-9	WY	os	▲
182	Solanum xanti	Purple nightshade	H	5-8	L	s	▲
183	Solidago californica	California goldenrod	H	6-10	Y	s	▲
184	Sonchus asper ●	Prickly sow thistle	H	3-6	W	d	▲
185	Sonchus oleraceus ●	Common sow thistle	H	3-9	Y	d	▲
186	Sorghum halepense ●	Johnsongrass	G	6-10	I	d	▲
187	Spergularia marina	Saltmarsh sand-spurrey	H	6-11	W	m	▲
188	Stachys bullata	California hedge nettle	H	4-9	P	o	▲
189	Stephanomeria tenuifolia	Wire lettuce	H		P	sc	▲
190	Stephanomeria virgata	Twiggy wreath plant	H	6-10	P	sc	▲
191	Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus	Common snowberry	H	5-6	P	o	▲
192	Toxicodendron diversilobum	Poison oak	S	4-5	I	os	▲
193	Triglochin concinna	Arrow-grass	H	3-8	I	m	▲
194	Typha latifolia	Cattail	H	6-7	I	k	▲
195	Uropappus lindleyi	Silver puff	H	4-6	Y	c	▲
196	Urtica dioica	Stinging nettle	H	6-9	W	o	▲
197	Urtica urens ●	Dwarf nettle	H	4-6	I	d	▲
198	Vulpia myuros ●	Rattail fescue	G	3-5	I	c	▲
199	Vulpia octoflora	Six-weeks fescue	G	4-6	I	c	▲
200	Zostera marina	Eel-grass	G	6-9	I	m	▲


	● = non-native species ●● = non-native species which is or has the potential to negatively impact the natives species of the Elfin Forest. Common Name – name for a species most often used in local area. ID – arbitrary number used to cross reference between a plant’s scientific and common name(s) in the companion table available below. Many plants are know by multiple common names. Form T = tree S = shrub H = herb Sh = short herb – under 6” V = vine G = grass Gc = ground cover. (Some plants have more than one form within the Forest because of local environmental conditions.) Bloom – the months in which a plant “normally” blooms. Weather can changes these dates. Some plants bloom nearly all year round in the Forest’s mild climate, for them “Bloom” = peak period	KEY	Habit(at) – refers to plant association or complex: c = maritime chaparral d = disturbed (open sand) k = brackish water marsh m = coastal salt marsh – vegetated o = coast live oak woodland r = riparian s = coastal dune scrub u = mud flat – unvegitated tidal lands and channels z = oak/manzanita complex Color – predominant color(s) of blooms. W = white Y = yellow O = orange R = red P = pink B = blue L = lavender or purple C = cream I = indistinct. Where bloom has a definite two colored pattern, it is shown like “WY” – white outside/yellow center, etc. Photo – if a colored ▲ is shown clicking on it will bring up photographs of the plant from UC Berkeley's CalPhotos Image Collection - www.calphotos.org. You may freely look through their collection of photographs, but, if you want to make any other use of the photos be sure and respect the copyrights and restrictions found with each individual photograph. All this is explained on the CalPhoto web site.

Click to go to cross reference of common names.

California State Parks and Recreation's staff at Morro Bay, with a mini-grant from MBNEP, has created an excellent study of the native vascular plants of the Estero Bay area. There are two versions. One is 182 pages and the other is a compact 73 pages. The compact version was generated from the larger version by deleting an extensive section on plant communities, plus reducing the table and photo sizes. You can download either below:

Click on this button for the full sized version of "Native Flora of Estero Bay" (40.3 MB).

Click on this button for the compact version of "Native Flora of Estero Bay" (11.5 MB).