Welcome to California Horticulture

Hi there!

So, this is my first attempt at blogging. For some reason it feels like writing the annual, dreaded Christmas newsletter. The one that makes your friends groan upon receipt or laugh behind your back.

A little different, the blog will share information that I have gathered from the horticulture courses that I have taken and places that I have visited.

Concurrently, this blog might be used as my class project -- a photo journal of plants and places observed during field trips.

Pages

Rattlesnake weed

BOTANICAL NAME: Euphorbia albomarginata

COMMON NAME: Rattlesnake weed

FAMILY: Euphorbiaceae

PLANT TYPE: Annual

LIGHT: sun

BLOOM: Mar - May

COLOR: white with purple

HABITAT: Coastal sage brush

COMMENTS: Growing in clusters of less than ½” these small plants make can quickly make a ground cover. They are poisonous.

Owl's clover


BOTANICAL NAME: Castilleja densiflora

COMMON NAME: Owl’s Clover

FAMILY: Scrophulariaceae

PLANT TYPE: Annual

LIGHT: sun

BLOOM: Mar - May

COLOR: yellow/purple

HABITAT: Coastal sage brush, grasslands

COMMENTS: Partially parasitic. Grows in masses and can get as tall as 1’ high. It produces a tiny yellow flower surrounded by purple bracts.

Beach Evening Primrose


BOTANICAL NAME: Camissonia micrantha

COMMON NAME: Beach Evening Primrose, miniature suncup

FAMILY: Onagraceae

PLANT TYPE: Annual herb

LIGHT: Sun

BLOOM: Mar – May

COLOR: yellow

HABITAT: Coastal Sage Scrub, Chaparral. Grows in sandy areas

COMMENTS: A small, hairy annual herb producing a basal rosette of leaves. Self pollinates.

Red Maids


BOTANICAL NAME: Calandrinia ciliata

COMMON NAME: Red Maids

FAMILY: Portulacaceae

PLANT TYPE: Annual

LIGHT: sun - part shade

BLOOM: Mar - June

COLOR: magenta

HABITAT: sunny meadowlands

COMMENTS: Grows 1’ tall making a good rock garden specimen. A hardy plant well adapted to many habitat and climate types They tolerate poor soil.


Devils fiddleneck

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BOTANICAL NAME: Amsinckia vernicosa

COMMON NAME: Devils fiddleneck

FAMILY: Boraginaceae

PLANT TYPE: Annual

LIGHT: sun - part shade

BLOOM: Mar - June

COLOR: yellow

HABITAT: scrub, desert

COMMENTS: Seeds and plant are poisonous and the sharp hairs on the plant can cause skin irritation.