Nootka Rose
(Rosa nutkana)
Common Wild Flowering Plants of Northwestern California
This website features photos of some native wild flowering plants common to northwestern California. You may click on buttons to the left of plants' names, or browse sequentially through categories, such as "SUN LOVERS". You may learn other details about photos by moving your cursor over them.
SUN LOVERS
FOREST FLOOR PLANTS
PLANTS IN THE ROSE FAMILY
OTHER FLOWERING SHRUBS
Barberry family - Berberidaceae
Oregon-grape (Berberis aquilifolium) |
Buckthorn family - Rhamnaceae
Blue blossom (Ceanothus thrysiflorus) | |
Cascara (Frangula purshiana) |
Gooseberry family- Grossulariaceae
Red-flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum) Stink currant (Ribes bracteosum) |
Heath family- Ericaceae
Honeysuckle family - Caprifoliaceae
Red elderberry (Sambucus callicarpa) | |
Twinberry (Lonicera involucrata) |
Silktassel family - Garryaceae
Silktassel bush (Garrya elliptica) |
FLOWERING TREES
Maple family- Aceraceae
Big-leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) | |
Vine maple (Acer circinatum) |
WHERE TO FIND NATIVE PLANTS
There are many places to view native flowering plants in the wild. Five good locations where many of my photos were taken are Elk Head near Trinidad, Sue-meg State Park five miles north, Stagecoach Hill Azalea Reserve just north of Big Lagoon, Orick Beach and the Ladybird Johnson Grove on the Bald Hills Road near Orick. The local chapter of the California Native Plant Society lists more sites in northwestern California.
For many more excellent photographs of native plants, please visit the iNaturalist website, or Calflora, which covers plants throughout California.
English daisy
(Bellis perennis)
Finally, one needs to understand that not every plant that one finds in the wild in northwestern California is native to the area. To learn about the signficance of wild non-native plants, please see the Humboldt County Weed Management Area's “Invasive Plants in Humboldt County” (PDF).
Your Comments welcome!