Featured Plants
An indepth look at a plant – what makes it special, where to find it in the natural landscape, and other notables written by John Chesnut.
Beach Sun Cup
Beach sun cup (Camissonia cheiranthifolia) is one of the few plants that bloom year around along our coast. It is found most commonly on the unstable, sandy hillocks immediately in-shore from the beach. It can also occasionally found on disturbed sandy soils away from the immediate coast, but this is very rare. Its range is from southern Oregon to just into Baja. In the northern part of it range it is basically a perennial herb. It becomes somewhat woody in the southern portion of its range. Being somewhat in the middle, it can be either in...
read moreWatson’s Salt Bush (Atriplex watsonii)
The plant featured on the this cover of the Obispoensis would not generally be considered worthy of presentation to a general audience. Its flowers are tiny; its appearance mundane. It belongs to a plant family past students in Cal Poly’s Field Botany class nick named the “Uglyaceae.” It grows along the uppermost edge of coastal salt marshes and edges of coastal sand dunes. However, even though it is a salt marsh plant you probably won’t have to worry about getting your feet wet. This is because it grows where it gets...
read moreHedge Nettle (Stachys bullata)
The plant for the cover of this OBISPOENSIS is found in many habitats from dry to moist and from wood edge to open fields. It is found primarily in the coastal area west of the Santa Lucia mountain divide. It’s common or California hedge-nettle (Stachys bullata). This species is certainly not rare but it is not overly abundant either. It’s widespread but snooty where it grows. The flower books and floras state that it is found in our shrub lands (coastal scrub, dune scrub & chaparral) as well as oak forests. This is true,...
read moreWild and Domesticated Oats (Avena spp.)
Wild and Domesticated Oats (Avena spp.) One or the other or both wild species, common (Avena fatua) or slender (A. barbata) wild oats are extremely widespread all along the Pacific Coast. They can be found in vacant lots, roadsides, pastures, and yes, even in our beautifully kept native plant gardens. This doesn’t mean that we’re bad gardeners, just that this genus produces very effective weeds. [ Bonnie and I haven’t done a weed for a while so this is it. My guess is that everyone who recognizes the species represented by...
read moreTule (Schoenoplectus californicus)
Schoenoplectus (Scirpus) acutus, S. californicus and S. olneyi The illustration below is a set of drawings Bonnie did for Dr. David Keil’s and my plant taxonomy text plus a new one of the plants’ growth form. These species grow in areas where the soil is at least seasonally wet. These species require lots of fresh water but are capable of surviving periodic short exposures to salt water. They are commonly called tule or bull-rush. These tall (usually over 6 ft. or 2 m) more or less grass-like perennial plants resemble spears or pikes...
read moreTidy-tips (Layia platyglossa)
Tidy-tips (Layia platyglossa) is one of our more common spring wildflowers. It can turn the hills a shade of yellow. When people talk of great wildflower displays, it is often this plant of which they are speaking. Its flowers are predominately yellow. The center is dark yellow to even orange while the bases of the petal-like structures are medium yellow. The tips are pale yellow to white. When in mass, they form medium-yellow patches as opposed to dark orange-yellow of goldfields (Lasthenia). It is the pale tips that give this plant its...
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