Plants For Shadscale Scrub

Agave deserti, Desert Agave, here growing in San Felipe Valley of San Diego county, California.  - grid24_12
Agave deserti Desert Agave

A clumping, almost stemless plant that usually grows in colonies, new plants being produced by basal lateral shoots, and the individual plants are several feet wide. The leaves, arising from a wood... Learn more.

Agave utahensis, Century Plant, growing under Acacia greggii in the Santa Margarita garden.  - grid24_12
Agave utahensis var. nevadensis Century Plant

Clark Mountain Agave is native to east Mojave desert on limestone soils around the area of Clark Mt.The flowering stems are not branching as in Agavi deserti, but the flower clusters arise along the... Learn more.

Arctostaphylos hooveri, Hoovers manzanita grows into a medium sized bush. - grid24_12
Arctostaphylos hooveri 'Hoovers Manzanita'

Hoovers Manzanita is an evergray 10' X `6' bush with red stems that has proved intractable in our climate and soil. This species has an interesting leaf appearance, because of the long, silvery, hair... Learn more.

Astragalus Douglasii,  Douglas milkvetch plant - grid24_12
Astragalus Douglasii Douglas milkvetch

Douglas milkvetch is really a nice little plant that causes no problems that I've seen while creating a visually delightful addition to the garden. This little locoweed grows on the Santa Margarita ... Learn more.

Atriplex lentiformis Breweri Brewers Salt Bush - grid24_12
Atriplex lentiformis var. Breweri Brewers Salt Bush

This is now considered A. lentiformis ssp. lentiformis. Formerly it was thought a separate ssp. of A. lentiformis, because coastal plants had larger leaves and fruits. A large evergreen shrub to 8 ft... Learn more.

Atriplex lentiformis var. lentiformis Salt Bush

A large evergreen shrub to 8 ft.. Native in coastal Ca. to 100 miles inland. Very alkali tolerant. A plant for wind breaks, borders, and range management. Not a beautiful plant (A. canescens looks bet... Learn more.

Atriplex polycarpa - cattle saltbush, allscale saltbush, Allscale, cattle spinach with seed heads - grid24_12
Atriplex polycarpa Alkali Saltbush

Shrub, gray-white, not the prettiest but the toughest, used for bird and animal cover in revegetation. Dioecious. (Note: The Atriplexes from arid enviroments have a C4 photosynthetic pathway which is... Learn more.

Atriplex spinifera Spinescale - grid24_12
Atriplex spinifera Spinescale

Rhis Atriplex is a four foot grey shrub. Native from eastern SLO Co. to Fresno and east. Plant in the dry interior areas for wildlife. (Note: The Atriplexes from arid enviroments have a C4 photosynt... Learn more.

Calyptridium monandrum

Annual, low, spreading stems or flat to the ground, leaves in a basal rosette, flowers minute, in sandy, open areas, coast, chaparral, desert, forest. disappears after flowering. sSN, Teh, sSnJV, SCoR... Learn more.

Cucurbita foetidissima, Coyote Melon flowers - grid24_12
Cucurbita foetidissima Coyote Melon

A coarse, trailing perennial, with gray-green, rough leaves, yellow flowers, and a large root, undergoes dormancy after flowering and fruiting. Occurs often in sandy areas. Produces a gourd, not edibl... Learn more.

Delphinium parishii, Sky Blue Larkspur, is shown here in the central oak woodland of California, amongst the weeds, and other wildflowers.  - grid24_12
Delphinium parishii Sky Blue Larkspur

As Delphinium cardinale but blue, more drought tolerant but less garden tolerant. Learn more.

Acton Encelia, Mountain Bush Sunflower, Encelia actoni with flowers - grid24_12
Encelia actoni Mountain bush sunflower

Mountain bush sunflower is a perennial shrub, 4 ft. tall with yellow daisy flowers. Grey foliage and yellow flowers stand out in a garden. Needs sun and very limited water after the first summer. Gr... Learn more.

Ephedra californica, California Ephedra, is a primitive plant and grows in dry areas of California. - grid24_12
Ephedra californica California Jointfir

Evergreen shrub, 5 ft., dry areas, central and southern California, and stems used for tea. Ephedra spp. are good wildlife plants. Grows with Eriogonum fasciculatum polifolium, Encelia actoni, Bricke... Learn more.

Eriogonum elongatum, Longstem Buckwheat has a lot of small flowers in a large bouquet  - grid24_12
Eriogonum elongatum Longstem Buckwheat

Longstem Buckwheat is the buckwheat for dried flowers. The long delicate wands of gray foliage and pink flowers make a great foil for ferns and roses. Use in a neglected rock garden, rock face you don... Learn more.

Eriogonum fasciculatum var. polifolium; Rosemary Flat-Top Buckwheat with a Buckeye Butterfly - grid24_12
Eriogonum fasciculatum var. polifolium Interior California Buckwheat

California interior buckwheat is as Eriogonum fasciculatum but grayer and tougher, hardy to -20 F . The two varieties of California buckwheat (polifolium and foliolosum) overlap in many areas, most no... Learn more.

Eriogonum inflatum (desert trumpet) is a buckwheat with a swollen stem. - grid24_12
Eriogonum inflatum Desert Trumpet

A funny-looking perennial with small pink flowers on a 3' stalk. The stalk is inflated in the middle. This plant ranges from the drier areas of California to Arizona and Colorado. Hoover says it is a... Learn more.

Eurotia lanata (Krascheninnikovia),  Winterfat, is a member of the Chenopodiaceae that was utilized in earlier days as winter rangeland food for stock. - grid24_12
Eurotia lanata Winterfat

Synonyms: Eurotia lanata, Krascheninnikovia lanata and Ceratoides lanata ( You may find it listed either way as the botanists cannot agree, other than to make life difficult.) Winter Fat is a 2-3' pe... Learn more.

Grayia spinosa, Hopsage, has small leaves, and bare gray stems, and is adapted well to desert life.  - grid24_12
Grayia spinosa Hopsage

Western deserts up to 7000 ft., evergreen shrub to 4 ft., seeds and leaves vary from dark green to brilliant red, a nice addition to a dry landscape. It is well armed. (The last person I showed this p... Learn more.

Snakeweed or Broom Snake weed is a nice little bush. - grid24_12
Gutierrezia sarothrae Snakeweed

Snakeweed is a nice little subshrub or small shrub that frequents the drier areas of the west. You'll find it from Baja up into Saskatchewan and across to Texas, making a bright yellow sunny spot in... 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.

Monolopia lanceolata Common Monolopia - grid24_12
Monolopia lanceolata Common Monolopia

A very showy annual native that lives in openings throughout the interior. Monolopia is one of the annuals that were part of the spring flush(moisture and energy capture) of many of the interior (non... Learn more.

Montia perifoliata Miner's Lettuce - grid24_12
Montia perfoliata Miner's Lettuce

The delicate little plants commonly under Oaks in spring. These plants give the appearance of a lush fairy woodland to the Nursery in Spring, by mid-summer they've completely disappeared. Other forms ... Learn more.

Oenothera caespitosa ssp. marginata, Evening Primrose, possesses the most wonderful fragrance, when the flowers emerge in the dusk of the evening. - grid24_12
Oenothera caespitosa var. marginata Evening Primrose

A short-lived perennial (ours seem to last 5-6 years). The native range is in the desert ranges from S.Ca. to E.Wash and Utah. It has white-pink 3" flowers that fade to pink. The 12" leaves are from b... Learn more.

Bakersfield Cactus, Opuntia treleasei - grid24_12
Opuntia treleasei Bakersfield Cactus

Historically, Bakersfield cactus covered large areas of the southern San Joaquin Valley. Our plants came from Jack Zaninovich who had a little nursery that grew plants for the Kern chapter of Californ... Learn more.

Orthocarpus densiflorus, Owl's Clover in a field of grassy weeds - grid24_12
Orthocarpus densiflorus Owl's Clover

A semi-parasitic annual common in areas that still have some annual native plants left. Difficult to grow in anything other than a wildflower mix. Learn more.

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