Native Plants
ABOUT OUR REGION
Los Angeles is located within what’s called the California Floristic Province, which is 1 of 36 biodiversity hotspots in the world. There are over 3,400 species native to this region, 61% of these are endemic, meaning they only grow here. Los Angeles has over 1,200 native plant species.
Native plants are uniquely accustomed to our region’s soil and climate. They’re often drought tolerant and more fire resistant than invasive species. They also support more biodiversity than invasive or non-native species. Wildlife, like insects, pollinators, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals, have co-evolved with these native plant species for millennia.
featured species
The plants listed below are only a small selection of the native plant species in Los Angeles. Scroll down to learn about these plants you may see when hiking or enjoying time in natural habitat.
For more details about native plants, read or download our Native Plant Guide.
Black Sage (Salvia mellifera) Tongva name: Paa’or Yamaaxa’
This gorgeous and resilient shrub is common in hot, dry areas of the coastal sage scrub and lower chaparral. In spring, the flowering spikes are abuzz with bees and other pollinating insects, and are often visited by hummingbirds for nectar. In summer, the seeds provide food for many bird species and small mammals. In the warmest and driest months of the year, the leaves of black sage are smaller and more curled in shape, an adaptation that helps to reduce water loss and increase survival rate.
California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) Tongva name: Weraaxar
California Buckwheat is a keystone species essential to the health of chaparral and sage scrub ecosystems. Occurring on dry slopes and in washes and canyons, it is often seen growing with deerweed. Flower heads emerge in shades of pink to white in spring, and then dry to a pretty rust-brown color as the warm season progresses. In late summer to fall, Buckwheat adapts to heat by shedding the dried floral material and some of its leaves, which creates a natural mulch for the soil.
Chaparral Yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei) Tongva name: ‘Akoo’
Chaparral yucca adorns dry, rocky and sandy slopes with showy flowers in spring and large seed pods in summer. It flowers only once, after which the plant dies; oftentimes “pups” that were produced from the base of the plant remain. Chaparral yucca’s symbiotic relationship with its “specialist” pollinator, the yucca moth, reveals sublime coevolution: plant and insect depend on one another for survival.
Golden Yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum)
This small perennial plant from the daisy family splashes north-and-east facing slopes with glowing bright gold flowers from spring into summer; these flowers are a brilliant contrast to the subtle fade of its grey foliage.
Deerweed (Acmispon glaber) Tongva name: Milgali
Deerweed is an important plant on gentle slopes in dry, disturbed areas of the chaparral and coastal sage scrub, providing essential ecosystem services for animals and humans alike. It is both an obligate seeder (it regenerates by seed after fire) and a pioneer species (the first plant species to come back in good numbers and promote vegetation recovery after land disturbance such as fire).
Elderberry (Sambucus nigra caerulea) Tongva name: Huukat
Dry slopes and stream beds in coastal sage scrub and chaparral are graced by Elderberry in the foothill regions. Enchanting and fragrant cream-colored flower clusters are followed by powder-blue summer berries that are an important food source for birds.
Laurel Sumac (Malosma laurina)
Large evergreen shrub or small tree, up to 20 feet tall. Produces small white flowers. The thick, waxy leaves of this plant are fire resistant. The curved, taco-like leaf shape helps reduce sun exposure.
Mulefat (Baccharis salicifolia) Tongva name: Shooshmat
Mulefat is a flowering shrub, that can grow up to 12 feet tall. It produces white flowers and has narrow, green leaves. Because this plant is flowering for most of the year, it is a particularly important food source for pollinators.
Sticky Monkeyflower (Diplacus aurantiacus) Tongva name: Valseku
Typically found on steep north-facing slopes and rocky cliffs in coastal sage scrub and chaparral borders, sticky monkeyflower is spectacular in orange-to-yellow spring bloom in the foothills region. The flowers are horn-shaped with broad lobes.
White Sage (Salvia apiana) Tongva name: Paa’or
White sage is an unmistakable and majestic presence on the dry slopes of local coastal sage scrub and chaparral habitats. White sage is over-harvested in the wild and exploited commercially for its medicinal value, posing a significant threat to native plant populations and the wildlife they support. The best way to appreciate white sage is to observe and revere it in the wild, and obtain an ethically sourced plant to cultivate in a garden setting – and watch the insects and birds flock to it. It has been, for millennia, one of the most important plants in Native American culture.
Other common species
- California black walnut (Juglans californica) Tongva name: Takaape washuut
- California everlasting (Pseudognaphalium californicum) Tongva name: Shuukey Totookoram
- California sagebrush (Artemisia californica) Tongva name: Horuuvar
- Chapparal whitethorn (Ceanothus leucodermis) Tongva name: Iswish
- Chia (Salvia columbariae) Tongva name: Pashiiy
- Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) Tongva name: Wiit
- Hoary-leaf ceanothus (Ceanothus crassifolius) Tongva name: ‘Iishwey
- Lance-leaved dudleya (Dudleya lanceolata)
- Narrowleaf milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis)
- Sacred datura (Datura wrightii) Tongva name: Maanet
- Scale broom (Lepidospartum squamatum)
- Western sycamore (Platanus racemosa) Tongva name: Sheveer
- Yerba santa (Eriodictyon crassifolium) Tongva name: Hohoohechot
We’d like to extend our gratitude to our Biology advisor Mickey Long for his expertise, as well as Tina Calderon for her guidance on Traditional Ecological Knowledge and providing the Tongva names of these native plants.