Costa Hummingbird on a Saliva clevelandii Alpine. Native plants support native birds and butterflies.

Las Pilitas Nursery

California Native Plants are all we grow!

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3232 Las Pilitas Rd
Santa Margarita, CA 93453

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This website is dedicated to Bert Wilson. His genius continues to inspire us.

Native Plants Nature of California Native gardens Native Plant Pictures Selected Native Plants Garden DIY Birds and the Bees.
Ceanothus Manzanitas Monkeys Penstemons Currants and Gooseberries Sage Salvias Sexy flowers

Native trees of California.

There are so many native trees in California. I'll try to cover the basics so you can get a feel for what is native in the state and what you can choose from in the trade.
Fir trees are native to the middle to higher elevations or higher rainfall areas of California. Native fir trees do ok in most California gardens with extra water. BUT, they are slowww. I had a customer decades ago that had one in a half of wine barrel and moved it in for Christmas each year, worked for about twenty years.
A young specimen of Abies bracteata, Santa Lucia Fir, in our Santa Margarita garden in the spring. - grid24_6
Abies bracteata,
Santa Lucia Fir
Abies concolor, White Fir trees. - grid24_6
Abies concolor, White Fir
Acer circinatum, Vine Maple with flowers - grid24_6
Acer circinatum, Vine Maple
A Mountain maple, Rocky Mountain maple tree in the Southern Sierras. - grid24_6
Acer glabrum, Mountain Maple
No photo for these, sorry. Abies amabilis, Pacific Silver Fir ,Abies magnifica,Abies procera, Noble Fir
Acer macrophyllum, Big Leaf Maple tree. - grid24_6
Acer macrophyllum, Big Leaf Maple
Box Elder tree, Acer negundo californicum with fall color in fog. - grid24_6
Acer negundo, californicum, California Box Elder
Box elder male flowers - grid24_6
Acer negundo californicum, Bert's Toy Box
Betula occidentalis, Water Birch, in early spring with its pendent catkins (flower clusters). - grid24_12
Betula occidentalis, Water Birch
Western Hackberry - grid24_12
Celtis reticulata, Hackberry
A lush specimen of Cephalanthus occidentalis, California Buttonwillow, growing along the treacherous, deadly Kern River, above Bakersfield, California. - grid24_12
Cephalanthus occidentalis californica, Buttonwillow
Palo Verde as a small tree. - grid24_6
Cercidium floridum, Palo Verde
Cercidium microphyllum, Littleleaf Palo Verde, showing the leaf pattern and the green stem. - grid24_6
Cercidium microphyllum, Littleleaf Palo Verde

The Palo Verdes are different. The C. floridum grows in desert washes, the C. microphyllum grows on hillsides. Both are cool trees.

Western Redbud, Cercis occidentalis as a small tree. - grid24_6
Cercis occidentalis, Western Redbud
A young tree of Chilopsis linearis, Desert Willow, in the Santa Margarita nursery garden. - grid24_6
Chilopsis linearis, Desert Willow
Pacific or Western Dogwood, Cornus nuttallii - grid24_12
Cornus nuttallii, Western Dogwood
Corylus cornuta californica, Western Hazelnut in the Sierras. This was a 30 ft. tree in a little forest of Hazel nuts. - grid24_12
Corylus cornuta californica, Western Hazelnut
Crataegus douglasii Western Thorn Apple - grid24_6
Crataegus douglasii, Western Thorn Apple
Cupressus bakeri, the Modoc Cypress, Siskiyou Cypress or Baker Cypress - grid24_12
Cupressus bakeri,
Cupressus forbesii, Tecate Cypress as a hedge row. No water and the little trees look decent. Reports of 15 ft. in 3 years. - grid24_12
Cupressus forbesii, Tecate Cypress


Cupressus goveniana ssp. goveniana, Gowen Cypress
Gowen Cupress smells like lemon. - grid24_3
Looking up into a Cupressus macnabiana, MacNab cypress tree. - grid24_12
Cupressus macnabiana
Cupressus macrocarpa, or Monterey cypress will grow right on coastal bluffs. It gets beat up, but usually survives. - grid24_3
Cupressus macrocarpa, Monterey Cypress
Cupressus nevadensis, Piute Cypress could be used as a gray hedge. - grid24_6
Cupressus nevadensis, Piute Cypress
A Cupressus sargentii, Sargent Cypress tree on top of Cuesta Ridge north of San Luis Obispo - grid24_6
Cupressus sargentii, Sarget Cypress
Juglans californica, California Black walnut in the wild. - grid24_12
Juglans californica, California Walnut
Here is a nice specimen of Juglans hindsii, Northern California Walnut in the Santa Margarita garden. - grid24_6
Juglans hindsii,Northern California walnut
Juniperus californica, California Juniper tree - grid24_12
Juniperus californica, California Juniper
This pretty western Juniper tree was at about 9000 feet in the San Bernardino range. - grid24_6
Juniperus occidentalis, Western Juniper
Libocedrus decurrens, Incense Cedar up in the Sierras. - grid24_12
Libocedrus decurrens, Incense Cedar
Catalina Ironwood, Lyonothamnus floribundus - grid24_6
Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. asplenifolius, Catalinia Ironwood
This is a specimen of Pinus attenuata, Knobcone Pine, in its native habitat in central California, of mixed evergreen forest. - grid24_12
Pinus attenuata, Knobcone Pine

Picea engelmannii, Engelmann Spruce(no image)
Pinus attenuataXradiata - grid24_6
Pinus attenuataXradiata Monty Knob
Pinus contorta ssp. contorta, Beach Pine, grows well in coastal environments in California. - grid24_6
Pinus contorta contorta, Beach Pine
Pinus coulteri on pure serpentine - grid24_6
Pinus coulteri, Coulter Pine
Pinus edulis, Pinyon Pine, a slow-growing pine, but worth waiting for, is pictured here in the Santa Margarita nursery. - grid24_6
Pinus edulis, Pinyon Pine
Fell fields forest, Limber Pine, Pinus flexilis, on Mt. Pinos - grid24_6
Pinus flexilis, Limber Pine
Thinned Pinus Jeffreyi with Symphoricarpos parishii, Mountain Snowberry under it. I assume they removed everything else. - grid24_6
Pinus jeffreyi, Jeffrey Pine
Pinus balfouriana, Foxtail Pine (no image), Pinus californica, California Pine
Pinus lambertiana, Sugar Pine, is one of the largest pines in America. - grid24_6
Pinus lambertiana, Sugar Pine
A Bristle cone pine forest - grid24_12

Pinus longaeva, Bristlecone Pine
Pinus monophylla and Arctostaphylos parryana as a groundcover. - grid24_6
Pinus monophylla, Pinyon Pine
Pinus muricata, Bishop Pine, is found on the coast and in the coastal mountains from forests to chaparral. - grid24_12
Pinus muricata, Bishop Pine
Lodgepole pine trees, I think, at 7500 ft. in the Sierra - grid24_6
Pinus murrayana, Lodgepole Pine
This Ponderosa Pine is about 20 years old. - grid24_6
Pinus ponderosa, Ponderosa Pine
Pinus quadrifolia, Parry Pinyon, a very slow growing pine, in the nursery at Santa Margarita, California. - grid24_6
Pinus quadrifolia, Parry Pinyon
Pinus radiata, Monterey Pine, is a popular tree in California landscapes, though it grows best along the immediate coast. - grid24_12
Pinus radiata, Monterey Pine
Edge of Cambrian pine forest - grid24_6
Pinus radiata macrocarpa, Cambria Pine
Pinus remorata, Santa Cruz Island Bishop Pine, or Pinus muricata, is a closed-cone pine. - grid24_12
Pinus remorata, Island Bishop Pine
Pinus washoensis, Washoe Pine(no photo)
A young digger pine - grid24_6
Pinus sabiniana,Gray Pine
Pinus torreyana, Torrey Pine, is photographed in this photo, at Torrey Pines State Park, California. - grid24_6
Pinus torreyana, Torrey Pine
A young Fremont Cottonwood, Populus fremontii tree - grid24_6
Populus fremontii, Western Cottonwood
Populus tremuloides, Quaking aspen at 7400 ft. in the Sierras - grid24_6
Populus tremuloides, Quaking Aspen
A ticket of Black Cottonwood, Populus trichocarpa - grid24_6
Populus trichocarpa, Black Cottonwood
Prosopis glandulosa torreyana, Honey Mesquite out in Buttonwillow - grid24_12
Prosopis glandulosa torreyana, Honey Mesquite
Prosopis pubescens Screwbean Mesquite - grid24_6
Prosopis pubescens, Screwbean Mesquite
Pseudotsuga macrocarpa overview - grid24_6
Pseudotsuga macrocarpa, Bigcone Spruce
Pseudotsuga menziesii Douglas Fir - grid24_6
Pseudotsuga menziesii, Douglas Fir

California forests are very diverse. The trees can range from desert Joshua Trees to Redwood forests. The cover photo shows Lodgepole Pines that are native in the Eastern Sierras.

We have a series of pages that review the oak trees that are native to California.

A really old picture - grid24_6
Quercus acutidens x Scrub Oak
Quercus agrifolia, Coast Live Oak silhouette. - grid24_6
 Quercus agrifolia, Coast Live Oak
A Quercus alvordiana woodland in the Temblor range. The trees are about 30 ft tall and wide.. - grid24_12
Quercus alvordiana, Eastmans Oak
Quercus berberidifolia, the California Scrub Oak used to be part of Quercus dumosa. - grid24_6
Quercus berberidifolia, Scrub Oak
Quercus chrysolepis, Canyon Live Oak between Big Bear and Lucerne along a stream at 5000 ft. - grid24_12
Quercus chrysolepis, White live Oak
Quercus-cornelius-mulleri as a tree along Hwy. 18 North of Big Bear. This oak is native to much of interior Southern California. - grid24_6
Quercus cornelius-mulleri, Mullers Scrub Oak
Quercus douglasii, Blue Oak tree, old and leaning. - grid24_6
Quercus douglasii, Blue Oak

Quercus dunnii (no image)
Engelmann Oak, Quercus engelmannii - grid24_6
Quercus engelmannii, Mesa Oak
Garry Oak , also known as Oregon White Oak or Oregon Oak, Quercus garryana - grid24_6
Quercus garryana, White oak
a young Quercus turbinella - grid24_12
Quercus john-tuckeri, Tuckers Oak
Quercus kelloggii, Black oak - grid24_12
Quercus kelloggii, Kellogg Oak
A valley oak, Quercus lobata, going deciduous - grid24_6
Quercus lobata, White Oak
Island Oak, Quercus tomentella is native to the Channel Islands - grid24_6
Quercus tomentella, Island Oak
Leaves of Quercus wislizenii, Interior Live Oak. - grid24_6
Quercus wislizenii, Interior Live Oak
Salix goodingii, San Joaquin Willow in Kern River - grid24_6
Salix gooddingii, San Joaquin Willow
Salix laevigata Red Willow - grid24_6
Salix laevigata, Red Willow
Salix lasiandra Pacific willow - grid24_6
Salix lasiandra, Pacific willow
Salix lasiolepis, Arroyo Willow, as bush - grid24_12
Salix lasiolepis, Arroyo Willow

Salix melanopsis, Longleaf Willow(no image)
Looking up into the Coastal redwoods along the California north coast. California's Coastal Redwood forest is dominated by Sequoia sempervirens - grid24_6
Sequoia sempervirens, Coast Redwood
Sequoiadendron giganteum, Giant Redwood in a Big Bear garden.Turns brown every winter, green in spring, gray in fall. - grid24_6
Sequoiadendron giganteum, Giant Sequoia
Shepherdia argentea Silver Buffaloberry - grid24_12
Shepherdia argentea, Silver Buffaloberry
Staphylea bolanderi Bladder Nut - grid24_12
Staphylea bolanderi, Bladder Nut
California Nutmeg, Torreya californica - grid24_6
Torreya californica, California Nutmeg
California Fan Palm (Washingtonia filifera) - grid24_12
Washingtonia filifera, California Fan Palm
Joshua tree, Yucca brevifolia in Kelso Valley. - grid24_12
Yucca brevifolia, Joshua Tree