Vascular Plants of the Elfin Forest

		F	B	C	H	P	C
		o	l	o	a	h	o
		r	o	l	b	o	n
Scientific	Common	m	o	o	i	t	f
Name	Name		m	r	t	o	m	Notes
Abronia umbellata	Beach sand-verbena	Gc	5-10	P	sd	📷
Achillea millefolium	Yarrow	H	4-5	W	s	📷	Y16
Acmispon glaber	Deerweed	S	3-8	Y	sc	📷	K13	fka: Lotus scoparius
Acmispon junceus	Rush deerweed	S	4-6	Y	sc	📷		fka: Lotus junceus
Adenostoma fasciculatum	Chamise	S	3-8	W	c	📷	K13
Amsinckia spectabilis var. microcarpa	Small fruit seaside fiddleneck	H	2-6	Y	sd	📷	K13
Anaphalis margaritacea	Pearly everlasting	H	6-8	W	s	📷
Aphyllon fasciculatum	Clustered broomrape	Sh	3-7	Y	s	📷	Y16	Parasitic
Apiastrum angustifolium	Mock-celery					📷	K13
Arctostaphylos morroensis	Morro manzanita	TS	2-3	W	z	📷	K13	Federally Listed: Threatened Species
Artemisia californica	California sagebrush	S	4-12	W	sc	📷	K13
Artemisia douglasiana	Mugwort					📷	K13
Asparagus asparagoides **	African asparagus fern	V	3-6	W	o	📷	K13	Very invasive in oak groves.
Astragalus pomonensis	Pomona milk-vetch	H	1-10	C	sd	📷	K13
Atriplex patula	Spear oracle	H	7-11	I	m	📷	K13
Atriplex watsonii	Watson’s saltbush	H	8-10	I	m	📷	K13
Avena barbata *	Slender wild oats	G	3-6	I	d	📷
Avena fatua *	Common wild oats	G	3-6	I	d	📷	K13
Baccharis glutinosa	Marsh baccharis					📷	K13
Baccharis pilularis	Coyote brush	S	3-12	Y	sc	📷	K13	Male – yellow FL Female – white FL
Bolboschoenus maritimus ssp. paludosus	Saltmarsh bulrush					📷	K13
Bolboschoenus robustus	Sturdy bullrush	H	6	I	k	📷	K13	Likely an introgression from B. maritimus
Brachypodium distachyon **	False brome	G		I	d	📷
Brassica nigra **	Black Mustard	H	1-7	Y	d	📷
Brassica rapa **	Rape mustard					📷
Briza maxima *	Rattlesnake grass					📷	K13
Bromus carinatus	California brome	G	4-7	I	d	📷
Bromus diandrus **	Ripgut brome	G	4-7	I	d	📷	K13
Bromus hordeaceus *	Soft chess brome	G	4-7	I	d	📷	K13
Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens **	Foxtail brome	G	4-7	I	d	📷	K13
Bromus tectorum **	Cheatgrass	G	6-7	I	d	📷
Calandrinia menziesii	Red maids	H	2-5	R	d	📷
Calyptridium monandrum	Common pussypaws	H	3-6	R	d	📷
Calystegia macrostegia	Island morning glory	H	3-8	W	s	📷	Y16
Camissonia strigulosa	Contorted sun cup	H	4-8	Y	sd	📷
Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia	Beach evening primrose	H	4-8	Y	sd	📷	K13
Camissoniopsis micrantha	Spencer primrose	H	4-8	Y	sd	📷
Cardamine californica	Milk maids	H	6-8	W	o	📷	K13
Cardamine oligosperma	Bitter cress	H	3-6	W	kr	📷	K13
Cardionema ramosissimum	Sand mat	Gc	4-8	I	s	📷	K13
Carduus pycnocephalus **	Italian thistle	H	4-7	L	d	📷	N16
Carex barbarae	Santa Barbara sedge	H	3-8	I	km	📷	K13
Carex globosa	Round fruit sedge					📷	K13
Carex obnupta	Slough sedge					📷
Carpobrotus chilensis *	Sea fig	H	4-9	P	d	📷
Carpobrotus edulis **	Hottentot fig	H	4-10	P	d	📷	K13
Ceanothus cuneatus	Buck brush	S	1-4	W	c	📷	K13
Centaurea melitensis **	Tocalote	H	3-9	Y	d	📷
Cerastium glomeratum *	Mouse-ear chickweed	Sh	3-7	W	dc	📷
Chenopodium berlandieri	Pit-seeded goosefoot					📷	K13
Chenopodium californicum	California goosefoot	H	3-7	I	d	📷	Y16
Chorizanthe angustifolia	Narrow-leaf spineflower	Sh	3-7	W	d	📷	K13
Chorizanthe diffusa	Diffuse spineflower	Sh	3-7	W	d	📷
Cirsium occidentale var.occidentale	Cobwebby thistle	H	4-7	P	so	📷	K13
Cirsium vulgare *	Bull thistle	H	6-10	L	d	📷
Claytonia perfoliata	Miner's lettuce	Sh	2-5	W	oz	📷	N16
Conicosia pugioniformis **	Narrow leaved iceplant	Sh	5-10	Y	d	📷	K13
Corethrogyne filaginifolia	California aster	S	8-12	PY	sc	📷	K13	fka: Lessingia filaginifolia
Cotula coronopifolia *	Brass buttons	H	3-12	Y	km	📷
Crassula connata	Pygmy weed	Sh	2-5	W	sc	📷	M14
Crocanthemum scoparium	Peak rush-rose	S	4-8	Y	sc	📷	K13	fka: Helianthemum scoparium
Croton californicus	California croton	Sh	3-10	W	s	📷	K13
Cryptantha clevelandii	Cryptantha	H	4-6	W	sc	📷
Cuscuta pacifica	Saltmarsh dodder	HV	4-10	W	m	📷	K13	fka: Cuscuta salina. Parasitic
Daucus pusillus	Wild carrot	H	4-7	W	s	📷	K13
Deinandra corymbosa ssp. corymbosa	Coastal tarweed	Sh	3-5	Y	ds
Delairea odorata **	Cape ivy	H	3-7	Y	od	📷	K13	Highly invasive. fka: Senecio nikanioides
Descurainia pinnata	Yellow tansy mustard	H	3-7	Y	d	📷	K13
Dipterostemon capitatum	Blue dicks	H	2-6	B	c	📷	N15	fka: Dichelostemma capitatum
Diplacus aurantiacus	Sticky monkey-flower	S	3-8	O	sc	📷	K13
Distichlis spicata	Saltgrass	G	4-7	I	m	📷	K13
Dryopteris arguta	Wood fern	H		I	o,s	📷	K13	Reproduces with spores
Dudleya caespitosa	Coast dudleya	H	5-7	Y	s, c	📷	K13
Dudleya lanceolata	Coastal dudleya	H	5-7	Y	sc	📷	K13
Ehrharta calycina **	Veldt grass	G	3-7+	I	d	📷	K13	Spikelets reddish. Very invasive.
Ehrharta erecta **	Panic veldtgrass	G		I	d	📷	M14	grows in oak groves.
Eleocharis rostellata	Spikerush	H	5-7	I	kr	📷	K13
Elymus condensatus	Giant wildrye					📷	K13
Epilobium ciliatum	Willow-herb	H	5-8	W	kr	📷	K13
Equisetum hyemale	Common scouring-rush	H	3-6	W	dm	📷	K13
Equisetum telmateia	Giant horsetail	H	--	--	r	📷	K13	Not a flowering plant
Eriastrum densifolium ssp. densifolium	Wooly star	H	6-10	B	s	📷	K13
Ericameria ericoides	Mock heather	S	8-9	Y	s	📷	K13
Erigeron canadensis	Common horseweed					📷	K13
Eriogonum parvifolium	Dune buckwheat	S	5-10	W	s	📷	K13	Flower ages to pink then rust
Eriophyllum confertiflorum	Golden-yarrow	S	2-7	Y	sc	📷	K13
Eriophyllum multicaule	Many-stem woolly sunflower	Sh	3-5	Y	sc	📷	K13
Eriophyllum staechadifolium	Seaside golden-yarrow	S	3-12	Y	s	📷	K13
Erodium botrys *	Storkbill filaree	H	3-5	L	d	📷
Erodium cicutarium *	Red-stem filaree	H	2-5	P	d	📷	N15
Erysimum suffrutescens	Suffrutescent wallflower	H	3-5	Y	s	📷	K13	CNPS: rank = 4.2
Eschscholzia californica	California poppy	H	2-9	YO	sc	📷	K13
Eucrypta chrysanthemifolia	Eucrypta	H	5-6	W	sc	📷	K13
Euphorbia peplus *	Petty spurge	H	2-8	W	d	📷
Festuca arundinacea *	Tall fescue	G	3-7	I	d	📷	K13
Festuca myuros *	Rattail fescue	G	3-5	I	c	📷	K13	fka: Vulpia myuros
Festuca octoflora	Six-weeks fescue	G	4-6	I	c	📷		fka: Vulpia octoflora
Festuca perennis *	Perennial ryegrass	G		I	d	📷		fka: Lolium perenne
Festuca pratensis	Meadow fescue					📷		Mis-ID of species above?
Festuca rubra	California fescue	G				📷	K13
Foeniculum vulgare **	Fennel	H	5-9	Y	d	📷	K13
Frangula californica	California coffeeberry	S	4-7	Y	s	📷	K13	fka: Rhamnus californica
Frankenia salina	Alkali heath	H	6-10	L	m	📷	K13
Galium aparine	Common bedstraw					📷	K13
Galium porrigens	Climbing bedstraw	H	4-7	W	c	📷	K13
Geranium dissectum *	Cut-leaf geranium	H	3-5	P	d	📷	K13
Hedera helix **	English ivy	H		I	o	📷		ID TBD….. Algerian ivy (H. canariensis)
Hedypnois cretica *	Crete weed					📷	K13
Hesperocnide tenella	Western nettle	H	1-4	I	oc	📷	N15
Heteromeles arbutifolia	Toyon	T	1-4	W	c	📷	K13
Heterotheca grandiflora	Telegraph weed	H	1-12	Y	so	📷	K13
Hirschfeldia incana *	Perennial mustard	H	3-10	Y	d	📷
Hordeum murinum *	Foxtail barley	G	4-7	I	sc	📷
Horkelia cuneata ssp. cuneata	Wedgeleaf horkelia	H	3-7	WY	sc	📷	K13
Hydrocotyle verticillata	Whorled marsh pennywort	Sh	3-8	Y	k	📷	K13
Hypochaeris glabra *	Smooth cat's ear	H	3-9	W	d	📷	K13
Isocoma menziesii var. vernonioides	Menzie’s goldenbush	S	4-12	Y	sm	📷	K13
Isolepis cernua	Dwarf bullrush	H	5-12	Y	m	📷	K13	fka: Scirpus cernuus
Jaumea carnosa	Fleshy jaumea	H	5-12	Y	m	📷	K13
Juncus acutus ssp. leopoldii	Southwestern spiny rush	H	5-12	I	m	📷	K13	CNPS: rank = 4.2
Juncus bufonius	Toad rush	H	4-9	I	k	📷
Juncus hesperius	Coast or Bog rush	H				📷	K13
Koeleria macrantha	Junegrass	H		I	ds	📷
Lamarckia aurea *	Goldentop	G	2-5	I	d	📷		Flower golden to purplish
Layia hieracioides	Tall layia	H	4-5	Y	so	📷
Layia platyglossa	Tidy tips	H	3-6	WY	so	📷
Lepidium draba **	Hoary cress	H	3-6	W	dm	📷
Limonium californicum	Sea lavender	H	1-11	L	m	📷	K13
Lobularia maritima *	Sweet alyssum	H	1-12	W	d	📷
Lonicera hispidula var. vacillans	California honeysuckle	V	4-7	P	o	📷	K13
Lotus corniculatus *	Birdfoot trefoil	H	1-9	Y	k	📷
Lupinus arboreus	Yellow bush lupine	S	3-6	Y	s	📷
Lupinus bicolor	Miniature lupine	H	3-5	BW	sd	📷
Lupinus chamissonis	Silver dune lupine	S	3-7	BW	s	📷	K13
Lysimachia arvensis *	Scarlet pimpernel	Sh	3-6	O	d	📷	M16
Madia sativa	Coast tarweed	H	5-6	Y	c	📷
Malva parviflora *	Cheeseweed	H	3-10	P	d	📷
Marah fabaceus	Wild cucumber	H	2-4	WY	sco	📷	K13
Matricaria discoidea *	Pineapple weed	Sh	4-8	Y	d	📷	N15	fka: Chamomilla suaveolens
Medicago polymorpha *	Bur clover	H	3-6	Y	d	📷
Melica imperfecta	Smallflower melicgrass	G	4-5	I	c, s	📷	N15
Melilotus albus *	White sweet-clover	H	4-10	W	d	📷
Melilotus indicus *	Yellow sweet-clover	H	4-10	Y	d	📷	K13	AKA: M. indica
Monardella sinuata	Curly leaved monardella	H	7-10	B	d	📷	R24	CNPS: rank=1B.2
Morella californica	California wax-myrtle	TS	4-7	W	s	📷	K13	fka: Myrica californica
Mucronea californica	California spineflower	H	4-7	W	sc	📷	K13	CNPS: rank = 4.2
Nuttallanthus texanus	Blue toadflax	H	3-5	B	co	📷	Y17	fka: Linaria canadensis
Oenanthe sarmentosa	Water parsley	H	6-10	W	k	📷	K13
Paeonia californica	California peony	H	12-3	R	sc	📷	K13
Parietaria hespera	Pellitory	H	3-5	R	s	📷
Persicaria punctata	Dotted smartweed					📷	K13
Phacelia (several)	Phacelia	H	2-5
Pholisma arenarium	Pholisma	H	4-8	WL	sc	📷	K13	Parasitic
Pholistoma auritum	Fiesta flower	H	3-5	L	s	📷
Phragmites australis *	Common reed					📷	K13	Native to Calif. but not Elfin Forest
Piperia michaelii	Rein orchid	H	6-8	W	o	📷	K13	K13 CNPS: rank = 4.2
Plagiobothrys nothofulvus	Popcorn flower	H	3-5	W	s	📷
Plantago coronopus *	Cutleaf plantain	H	3-6	W	dm	📷	K13
Plantago lanceolata *	English plantain	H	4-8	C	d	📷	K13
Polycarpon depressum	Polycarp	Sh	4-6	W	sc	📷	K13
Polygonum aviculare *	Common knotweed	H	5-11	W	d	📷		fka: Polygonum arenastrum
Potentilla anserina ssp. pacifica	Pacific silverweed	H	5-10	Y	m	📷	K13
Prunus fasciculata var. punctata	Dune almond	S	3-4	C	s	📷	K13	CNPS: rank = 4.3
Prunus ilicifolia	Hollyleaf cherry	S	2-4	W	s	📷	K13
Pseudognaphalium biolettii	Bicolored cudweed	H	1-6	C	s	📷	K13	fka: Gnaphalium bicolor
Pseudognaphalium californicum	California everlasting	H	1-7	WY	c	📷	K13	fka: Gnaphalium californicum
Pseudognaphalium ramosissimum	Pink everlasting	H	6-9	P	sc	📷	K13	K13 fka: Gnaphalium ramosissimum
Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens	Bracken fern	H		I	os	📷	K13	Reproduces with spores
Quercus agrifolia	Coast live oak	TS	3-4	I	o	📷	K13
Raphanus sativus *	Wild radish	H	2-7	L	d	📷
Rhamnus crocea	Redberry	S	3-4	C	s	📷	K13
Ribes divaricatum var. pubiflorum	Straggly gooseberry					📷	K13
Ribes menziesii	Canyon gooseberry	S				📷	K13
Ribes speciosum	Fuchsia-flowered gooseberry	S	1-5	R	sc	📷	K13
Rosa californica	California wild rose	S	5-8	P	s	📷	K13
Rosa spithamea	Coast ground rose	H	3-6	W	dm	📷	K13
Rubus ursinus	California blackberry	S	2-5	W	so	📷	K13
Rumex acetosella *	Sour-dock	H	3-8	O	d	📷
Rumex crispus *	Curly dock	H	4-8	Y	d	📷
Rumex occidentalis	Western dock	H				📷	K13
Ruppia maritima	Ditch Grass					📷	K13	In salt water ponds
Salicornia bigelovii	Dwarf glasswort					📷	K13	aka Annual pickleweed
Salicornia pacifica	Pacific pickleweed	H	7-11	W	m	📷	K13	fka: Salicornia virginica
Salix lasiolepis	Arroyo willow	TS	2-5	I	r	📷	K13
Salvia mellifera	Black sage	S	4-7	W	sc	📷	K13
Sanicula crassicaulis	Pacific snakeroot	H	3-4	Y	dm	📷	K13
Schismus arabicus *	Mediterranean grass	H		I	d	📷
Schoenoplectus acutus var. occidentalis	Tule	H	5-8	I	k	📷	K13	fka: Scirpus acutus var. occidentalis
Schoenoplectus americanus	American threesquare	H	6-8	I	k	📷	K13	fka: Scirpus americanus
Schoenoplectus californicus	California tule	H	6-9	I	k	📷	K13	fka: Scirpus californicus
Scirpus microcarpus	Small-headed bulrush	H	3-7	I	k	📷	K13
Scrophularia californica	California figwort	H	2-6	R	co	📷	K13
Scutellaria tuberosa	Common skullcap	H	3-5	B	s	📷
Senecio blochmaniae	Dune ragwort	H	6-10	Y	s	📷	N15	CNPS: rank = 4.2
Senecio californicus	California groundsel	H	3-5	Y	s	📷
Setaria viridis *	Green bristlegrass	G	6-8	I	d	📷
Silene gallica *	Windmill pink	H	4-10	WP	d	📷
Silene laciniata ssp. laciniata	Indian pink	H	5-6	R	s	📷	K13	fka: Silene laciniata ssp. major
Solanum douglasii	White nightshade	H	5-9	WY	os	📷	K13
Solanum xanti	Purple nightshade	H	5-8	L	s	📷	K13
Solidago confinis	Southern goldenrod					📷	K13
Sonchus asper *	Prickly sow thistle	H	3-6	W	d	📷
Sonchus oleraceus *	Common sow thistle	H	3-9	Y	d	📷
Sparganium eurycarpum var. eurycarpum	Bur reed					📷	K13
Spergularia marina *	Saltmarsh sand spurrey	H	6-11	W	m	📷
Stachys bullata	California hedge nettle	H	4-9	P	o	📷	K13
Stellaria media *	Common chickweed	H				📷	K13
Stephanomeria elata	Santa Barbara wirelettuce	H	6-10	P	sc	📷	K13
Stephanomeria virgata ssp. virgata	Rod wirelettuce	H	6-10	P	sc	📷	K13
Symphoricarpos mollis	Creeping snowberry	H	5-6	P	o	📷	K13
Toxicodendron diversilobum	Poison oak	S	4-5	I	os	📷	K13
Triglochin concinna	Arrow grass	H	3-8	I	m	📷	K13
Turritis glabra	Tower mustard					📷	K13
Typha latifolia	Cattail	H	6-7	I	k	📷	K13
Uropappus lindleyi	Silver puff	H	4-6	Y	c	📷	M14
Urtica dioica	Stinging nettle	H	6-9	W	o	📷	K13
Urtica urens *	Dwarf nettle	H	4-6	I	d	📷		Mis-ID of species above?
Vicia gigantea	Giant vetch					📷	K13
Polypodium californicum	California polypody					📷	N16

The vascular plant list is the product of many people's efforts extending from well before the Elfin Forest officially came into existance as a natural area preserve. The list that this table superceeds dates from 2005 - the publication date of SWAP's "Plants and Animals of the Elfin Forest Natural Area - A Pocket Guide".

Recently, Dr. David J. Keil, Curator of the Robert F. Hoover Herbarium at CalPoly, spent considerable time and effort in the Elfin Forest to confirm and update the list. Dr. Keil was able to confirm 138 of the species as being present. 12 were removed from the list as being confirmed "not present" - previous misidentifications, extripated by nature or by the Weed Warriors. 22 new plants were added (of these 6 replace plants that were most likely misidentified previously which will probably be removed from the list). Dr. Keil notes that 23 of the original scientific names have changed in the intervening 10 years.

Thank you, David!


	Scientific Name – Authoritive name in the order Genus + species, occasionally followed by var. (varitity) or ssp. (subspieces). Clicking on the scientific name will bring up Calflora's listing for that plant; see "Calflora" below. * = non-native species ** = non-native species which is or has the potential to negatively impact the native species of the Elfin Forest. Common Name – A vernacular name for a species often used in local area. Most plants are known by multiple common names. Form T = tree S = shrub H = herb Sh = short herb – under 6” V = vine G = grass Gc = ground cover. (Some plants have more than one form within the Forest because of local environmental conditions.) Bloom – the months in which a plant “normally” blooms. Weather can changes these dates. Some plants bloom nearly all year round in the Forest’s mild climate, for them “Bloom” = peak period	KEY	Habit(at) – refers to plant association or complex: c = maritime chaparral d = disturbed (open sand) k = brackish water marsh m = coastal salt marsh – vegetated o = coast live oak woodland r = riparian s = coastal dune scrub u = mud flat – unvegitated tidal lands and channels z = oak/manzanita complex Color – predominant color(s) of blooms. W = white Y = yellow O = orange R = red P = pink B = blue L = lavender or purple C = cream I = indistinct. Where bloom has a definite two colored pattern, it is shown like “WY” – white outside/yellow center, etc. Cfm – "Confirmed" means the presence of the species has been confirmed since the 2005 list. "K13" indicates Dr. Keil found the plant present in 2013; "N15" = Al Normandin 2015, "M14" indicates Bob Meyer 2014, "Y16" indicates Yolanda Waddell 2016. and and R24" indicates Jeff Reifel 2024.

Calflora is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information about California plant biodiversity for use in Education, Research and Conservation. Calflora is structured as a digital database and library. It lists over 8,000 plants (native and non-native) found in California. Clicking on the scientic name in the above table will take you to that plant's listing in Calflora from there your only one more click away from many other sources of information. It can be used as a gateway to several databases not the least of which "eFlora" the electronic version of the Jepson Manual maintained by The University Herbarium (UC Bedrkely) and Jepson Herbarium. Try it; you'll like it.

California State Parks and Recreation's local staff, with a mini-grant from MBNEP, has created an excellent study of the native vascular plants of the Estero Bay area. There are two versions. One is 182 pages and the other is a compact 73 pages. The compact version was generated from the larger version by deleting an extensive section on plant communities, plus reducing the table and photo sizes. You can download either below:

"Native Flora of Estero Bay" (40.3 MB) The full sized version

"Native Flora of Estero Bay" (11.5 MB) The abreviated version