Plants For Chaparral

Keckiella breviflora, Yawning Penstemon, is so pale, with purple lines, and ranges from the valley to the mountains of California.  - grid24_12
Keckiella breviflora Yawning Penstemon

This bush penstemon is a sprawling subshrub that usually props itself up on a rock or neighbor so you can see the purple striped, white flowers. Keckiella breviflora is a plant for tough situations a... Learn more.

Climbing Penstemon, Heart leaved Keckiella, or Heartleaf Keckiella, Keckiella cordifolia  is hanging over our driveway and is native from about Santa Margarita  south to San Diego. This Native Penstemon was all over the north and east slopes of Los Angeles and parts of Southern California. A great addition to a native garden. - grid24_12
Keckiella cordifolia Heart Leaved Penstemon

Heart Leaf Penstemon, Keckiella cordifolia, is a 3' to 6' sprawling subshrub that is evergreen in mild climates with a little watering, deciduous in winter cold or under drought stress. The flowers a... Learn more.

Keckiella ternata, Summer Bush Penstemon - grid24_12
Keckiella ternata Summer Bush Penstemon

A very attractive perennial sub-shrub with bright red flowers that attracts hummingbirds and butterflies. Usually grows on exposed areas of north slopes. You'll usually find Dudleyas, Keckiella antirr... Learn more.

A close up of Whorl leaf penstemon flowers. - grid24_12
Keckiella ternata var. septentrionalis Whorl Leaf Penstemon

Whorl Leaf Penstemon, Keckiella ternata septentrionalis, is a wispy perennial shrub to 4', sometimes sending leafless 8' stems through surrounding plants, popping the bright red flower clusters out of... Learn more.

Koeleria macrantha, June Grass flower head - grid24_12
Koeleria macrantha June Grass

A small perennial grass that looks like it belongs in a Japanese Garden. Although it grows in pine wood and heavy chaparral I've seen it only on the edge of a coastal prairie site at Vandenberg Air Fo... Learn more.

In this very old photo, circa 1980, Lasthenia glabrata, Goldfields, is here living up to its name, in the shadscale scrub of the Carrizo Plains, San Luis Obispo county, California. - grid24_12
Lasthenia glabrata Goldfields

A small little early spring annual that is a pioneer species in many bad habitats. In the San Joaquin Valley it makes mass displays of bright yellow in areas that are still intact. It will grow in any... Learn more.

Lathyrus jepsonii californicus - grid24_12
Lathyrus jepsonii var. californicus

A curly little perennial the grows in the hills and mountains of Central and Northern Calif.. It is native down the road under Quercus agrifolia, Pinus Sabiniana and Quercus Douglasii. It is on the n... Learn more.

Lathyrus laetiflorus alefeldii San Diego Sweetpea - grid24_12
Lathyrus laetiflorus var. alefeldii San Diego Sweetpea

San Diego Sweetpea is native to San Diego Co., from the coastal areas up to the desert edges. It usually is hiding under Coast Live Oak(Quercus Agrifolia) and is commonly associated with Keckiella cor... Learn more.

Lathyrus splendens Pride of California

Pride of California is a 2-4' perennial vine-shrub with 1-2" crimson red flowers. It climbs over chaparral shrubs in San Diego County. Pride of California likes part sun with some protection provided... Learn more.

Lathyrus vestitus Wild Pea - grid24_12
Lathyrus vestitus Wild Pea

Pacific pea is a perennial with twining stems, with tendrils, eastern slope, after fire, chaparral, scattered annuals assoc., and crown-sprouting shrubs, Cercocarpus betuloides, Heteromeles arbutifol... Learn more.

In this photo you can see the inflorescence of Lepechinia calycina, California Pitcher Plant. - grid24_12
Lepechinia calycina California Pitcher Plant

California Pitcher Sage is a 5-8' tall and 3-6' wide evergreen perennial or shrub with white digitalis-like flowers in April to June. Pitcher Sage is native to chaparral areas in central and southern... Learn more.

Lepechinia fragrans, Island Pitcher Sage grows on the island and from Ventura, through Los Angeles into the San Gabriel Mountains.  - grid24_12
Lepechinia fragrans Wallaces Pitcher Plant

An evergreen perennial shrub like Lepechinia calycina but flower is pink and leaves a little fuzzier. No cold damage at 20 deg., froze out at 10 F. Native to the coastal Southern California Mountains,... Learn more.

Lepechinia ganderi, San Diego Pitcher sage has a fragrance and white flowers. - grid24_12
Lepechinia ganderi San Diego Pitcher sage

A woody perennial that arches from the base with slender, rather delicate stems branching into even more delicate branchlets and pedicels with with big flower on it. This pitcher sage grows on ridges ... Learn more.

Lepidospartum squamatum, Scale Broom, is a strange-looking plant that attracts insect pollinators, and controls erosion here in its seasonal creek habitat.  - grid24_12
Lepidospartum squamatum Scale Broom

A shrub that can grow to chin height. It looks like a bunch of green corn stalk brooms tied together with yellow flowers on top. It grows in season stream bottoms. Very showy when in flower, ugly the ... Learn more.

Here are two flower-color variants of Leptodactylon californicum, Prickly Phlox, that grow together in the central California chaparral. - grid24_12
Leptodactylon californicum Prickly Phlox

Prickly Pholx is a subshrub, 1-3', flowers bright pink, 1" across, spring, small, spiny leaves, San Luis Obispo Co. to Los Angeles, stunning spring color, looks tacky in late summer, full sun, excelle... Learn more.

Even though these Humboldt Lilies were next to the bird bath, they we far enough away to be dry.
Lilium humboldtii bloomerianum, Humboldt Lily - grid24_12
Lilium humboldtii var. bloomerianum Humboldt Lily

Humboldt Lily, Lilium humboldtii bloomerianum is beautiful lily has large 3-4" red-yellow flowers on 3' spikes. At higher elevations Humboldt Lily; has grown to 6'. This subspecies is native from ... Learn more.

Here reposes Lithophragma heterophylla, Woodland Star, in a very old camcorder photo, circa 1992, in the Santa Margarita garden. - grid24_12
Lithophragma heterophylla

Perennial herb, small, 12" white flowers, plant seems to disappear in summer heat, for woodland garden, north slope, full shade, a plant for mossy areas. It was native on our site but was lost after t... Learn more.

Here is a portion of the inflorescence of Lobelia cardinalis, Cardinal Flower, with the opened flowers below, and the unopened buds above.   - grid24_12
Lobelia cardinalis Cardinal Flower

Cardinal flower is a flat perennial herb with 1-2 inch red flowers in 1-2 foot spike of 20 or more. It grows in bogs. Cardinal flower has nice cut flowers. It is a hummingbird flower. Useful in the ... Learn more.

Lobelia dunnii var. serrata, Dunn's Lobelia, is here being visited by a Harford Sulfur butterfly.  - grid24_12
Lobelia dunnii var. serrata Dunn's lobelia

Blue Lobelia, Lobelia dunnii serrata, is a pretty little perennial with lots of little blue flowers. The plant stays low, around a foot tall. It grows in wet spots in Southern California. Use as a sm... Learn more.

Seeds of Lace parsley - grid24_12
Lomatium dasycarpum Woolly fruit desert parsley

Woolly fruit desert parsley grows in openings in the chaparral, coastal sage scrub, up into the pines of Mt. Pinos and Mt. Laguna, through the Sierras and coast ranges below 7000 ft. The larval of the... Learn more.

Lonicera interrupta, Chaparral Honeysuckle, is a quiet background plant that grows well in the shade of oaks, and also likes morning sun.  - grid24_12
Lonicera interrupta Chaparral Honeysuckle

A sprawling, deciduous shrub with yellow honeysuckle flowers. Native from central and northern California mountains. It likes full sun to shade, dry conditions. Great on banks. It has edible berry b... Learn more.

Lonicera subspicata johnstonii Southern Honeysuckle - grid24_12
Lonicera subspicata var. johnstonii Southern Honeysuckle

A 2-5 foot perennial that always looks good . It has creamy yellow flowers in nice cluster. It does not look native. Upper leaf pairs not fused around stem, corolla often hairy. Southern Honeysuckle o... Learn more.

Here is a very old photo of Lonicera subspicata var. subspicata, Santa Barbara Honeysuckle, showing a fruit cluster, with an unusual background.  - grid24_12
Lonicera subspicata var. subspicata Santa Barbara Honeysuckle

A 2-5' perennial that always looks good . It has creamy yellow flowers in nice cluster. It doesn't look 'native'. This form occurs around Santa Barbara.Honeysuckles? Click here for more. We're not ha... Learn more.

Lotus purshianus, Spanish clover, Spanish Lotus  - grid24_12
Lotus purshianus Lotus

This annual Lotus, weedy plant of roadsides, open, dry, disturbed areas, thickly branched, fixes nitrogen. CA(exc DSon), to CAN, cUS, Mex. Used for soil stabilization and forage for livestock. Larval ... Learn more.

Here is a very floriferous example of Lotus scoparius, Deerweed,  a most valuable plant of the California chaparrla plant community.  - grid24_12
Lotus scoparius Deerweed

Lotus scoparius Deerweed is a short- lived ( 7-20 years! ) perennial in the pea family. From spring through summer this plant is covered in small yellow flowers. Deerweed is a pioneer species ... Learn more.