Native Plants for School & Urban Gardens
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANTS FOR SCHOOL & URBAN GARDENS
By Betsey Landis
Los Angeles/Santa Monica Mountains Chapter, California Native Plant Society
www.lacnps.org
August 2011
This book is written for teachers and school garden educators and planners. Anyone can download all or parts of the book for free from CNPS Chapter websites. However the book may not be printed and sold without the express permission of the Los Angeles/Santa Monica Mountains Chapter of CNPS. We have discussed printing small special orders but we do not plan to do any more printing of the book in the hundreds or thousands. I understand what I have written on those first two pages is a type of “creative commons” copyright. -Betsey Landis (the author)
Download Here
Because of the size of this book, we have created four separate PDF files for viewing on the web and for download:
Table of Contents
Please Add Your Comments
Have you used this resource for your school or public garden? Please share your experience in the comments below …
May Membership Meeting – Dudleyas and Asters
The speaker at the May 7, 2026 membership meeting will be Stephen McCabe on Adventures Looking for Dudleya. Following a quick tour through the Dudleya of San Luis Obispo County, this talk will dive into Stephen’s experiences exploring remote locations looking for new species and trying to decipher relationships between them. On these trips, researchers regularly find themselves in challenging situations, such as clinging onto cliffsides or motoring around in sketchy boats. Stephen has braved rough seas, steep climbs, and close encounters with dangerous wildlife as part of the process of naming five species new to science. While recounting these adventures, he will also talk about the many endangered species of Dudleya (a.k.a Liveforevers, our beloved California native succulents) and how to grow them successfully. For amateurs and fans of Dudleya alike!
Stephen McCabe started studying Dudleya in 1983 and then worked at the University of California Santa Cruz Arboretum for 30 years. His hobby of rock climbing has come in handy in accessing some of the species in the group he studies. He has published widely on the genus Dudleya and on a variety of subjects—from the Jepson Manual to the American Alpine Journal. He has named five species of Dudleya and has developed several native plant cultivars.
Stephen will be selling a wide variety of seed-grown Dudleya, before and after his presentation.
The schedule for the membership meeting is 7:00-7:30 pm for social mixing and light refreshments, and 7:30-8:30 pm for a short business meeting and our speaker. This membership meeting is held at the San Luis Obispo Veterans Memorial Building.
Note that this meeting will be preceded with an optional free workshop on identifying Asters from 5:45 to 6:45 pm. This is the second in a 3-part series of Aster keying workshops led by Dr. David Keil. You will learn about key characteristics of the large Asteraceae family and practice keying locally collected asters. Bring your own native blooming aster, if you can.
If you weren’t able to attend the first Aster keying workshop in April, this June event will still be helpful and you can see Dr Keil’s first presentation on our website, https://cnpsslo.org/resources/featured-plants/. The third Aster keying workshop will be before the June 4 membership meeting.
Participants should provide their own hand-lens, headlamp, dissection tools, copy of the flora, and a copy of Dr Keil’s Asteraceae presentation. We can provide a few extra supplies but the family key is too large for us to bring printouts for the class.
Photo of flowering Palmer’s dudleya (Dudleya palmeri) in San Luis Obispo County
Hike and Picnic at Santa Margarita Lake with Audubon Society
The California Native Plant Society – San Luis Obispo Chapter (CNPS-SLO) and Morro Coast Audubon Society (MCAS) look forward to reviving a historic collaboration at Santa Margarita Lake on Saturday, May 2, 2026. We’d like you to join us! As we have done annually for several years in the past, both organizations are offering combined outings featuring guided birding and botanizing field trips, and a picnic lunch gathering. This event is a wonderful way to celebrate our mutual interests and commitment to protecting and conserving native flora and fauna within our local biodiverse natural areas.
Join bird and plant lovers for a day-long visit to the Santa Margarita Lake Recreation and Natural Area in collaboration between MCAS and CNPS-SLO. This event consists of morning and afternoon guided field trip options plus meeting up for a group lunch and socializing. Participants are welcome to attend all or some of the events. Follow directions below to the morning trailhead and/or lunch site. Morning field trip participants are encouraged to join the optional carpool meetup location in Santa Margarita.
8:30 am – Optional carpooling will be organized for driving to the Blinn Ranch Trail morning field trip by meeting at the Santa Margarita Park and Ride located at the Highway 58 exit from Highway 101 (35.383260, -120.627404). Carpooling is encouraged but not required. NOTE: The first 10 carpools will be given a free entry card to Santa Margarita Lake Park. Driving directions: Santa Margarita Park and Ride off Hwy 101 are here.
9:00 am – The morning hike will focus on birds, plants, and habitats along the upper reaches of the lake and near the Salinas River corridor starting on the east side of the park at the Blinn Ranch trailhead on River Road (35.316375, -120.417867). Meet at the Blinn Ranch Trailhead at https://maps.app.goo.gl/LTnAvPijiA9x5676A Driving directions: From the Santa Margarita railroad tracks crossing, drive approximately 15.7 miles on Highway 58 EAST continuing straight onto Pozo Road to the intersection with River Road. Turn left onto River Road and then drive approximately 1.7 miles to the Blinn Ranch trailhead parking.
Noon – Bring-your-own lunch and beverages at White Oak Picnic Area. If needed, ask for directions to the White Oak Picnic Area at the entry kiosk station at Santa Margarita Lake (SML). Local musicians will serenade us during lunch and there will be educational displays and outreach as well. Driving directions to the SML park entrance station: From the Santa Margarita railroad tracks crossing, drive approximately 8.0 miles on Highway 58 EAST continuing straight onto Pozo Road to the intersection with Santa Margarita Lake Road, then turn left and follow Santa Margarita Lake Road to the park’s entrance station. If you are coming to the picnic location from the Blinn Ranch hike: To access Santa Margarita Lake Road from the Blinn Ranch Trailhead, return on the same roads for 9.5 miles (15 minutes), turn right off of Pozo Rd onto Santa Margarita Lake Rd, and proceed to the entrance station.
Note: There is a $12 per car entry fee into Santa Margarita Lake County Park.
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Afternoon concurrent field trip options with a moderately strenuous birding and botanizing hike in the hills on the Grey Pine Trail starting near the picnic area (2.5 mile hike, 400-foot elevation gain) OR from the picnic area take a leisurely birding and botanizing easy stroll along the lakeshore.
Bring lunch, water, sunscreen, hat, sturdy shoes, binoculars, field guides and dress in layers for changing weather. A plant list for Santa Margarita Lake can be found on the CNPS website here. There are restrooms near the lunch and afternoon hike starting locations. Rain or threat of rain cancel or postpone this trip.
Field trip leaders:
Morning co-leaders Bill Waycott and Michael Mulroy for Blinn Ranch Trail.
Afternoon co-leaders Bill Waycott and Michael Mulroy for Grey Pine Trail or co-leaders Susie Reddy, Marcella Munson, and Ben Kolstad for lakeshore stroll.
Please register for this event and sign a liability waiver by choosing either the English or Spanish link below.
- Select San Luis Obispo chapter as you sign up
- Click here to register in English
- Favor de abrir, revisar, y firmar la exención de responsabilidad disponible aquí por el enlace para este evento.
photo by Steve Schubert, joint CNPS/MCAS hike and picnic in 2004
Santa Rita Ranch Preserve and the San Luis Obispo County Flora and Pre-Meeting Seed Exchange
The speaker at our October 2, 2025 membership meeting will be David J. Keil, Professor Emeritus, Biological Sciences Department, Cal Poly on the flora of Santa Rita Ranch Preserve. In January 2021 the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County took possession of the Santa Rita Ranch, a 1750-acre parcel located near the crest of the Santa Lucia Range between Templeton and Cambria. During a 2021 field survey of the preserve, Dr. Keil documented a flora of over 520 taxa which represents about 24% of the flora in the entire San Luis Obispo County. The ranch includes areas of grassland, oak woodland, mixed evergreen forest, chaparral, coastal scrub, serpentine outcrops, and wetlands. It has a 30-acre reservoir and is crisscrossed by a network of ranch roads. The conservancy is managing the northern portion of the Preserve as a working cattle ranch and the southern portion as a nature preserve.
At this membership meeting, there will be a social gathering from 7 to 7:30 pm and then the formal business meeting and speaker program will start at 7:30 pm. General membership meetings and this workshop are open to everyone.
The October meeting also includes our annual pre-meeting Seed Exchange from 6:00 to 7:00 pm. Seeds are free at the exchange and you do not need to bring seeds to participate. See the article on page 11 of our October 2025 newsletter here for details on how to prepare seeds you intend to bring to the exchange and what to expect if you would like to take some seeds home. Thanks to Marti Rutherford for setting up this native seed exchange every year and guiding others in collecting, cleaning, and packaging these locally unique native seeds, many of which are not otherwise available.
Dr. David Keil is Professor Emeritus of Biology at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. Dave has had a lifelong interest and enthusiasm for botany. He received his B.S. and M.S. in botany from Arizona State University and his Ph.D. from Ohio State University. At Cal Poly he taught for 39 years, with courses in general botany, plant taxonomy, field botany, evolution, and biogeography. For many years Dave served as Curator of the Robert F. Hoover Herbarium at Cal Poly. He has authored scientific papers, textbooks, and study guides, and has been a major contributor and editor to The Jepson Manual and the Flora of North America. His research interests include Asteraceae systematics and floristics of Western North America. He edited both editions of the Wildflowers of San Luis Obispo and published the second edition of the Vascular Plants of San Luis Obispo County, California. He was elected as CNPS Fellow in 2018. He has served as Editor of Madroño and Systematic Botany Monographs.
Dr. Keil frequently contributes plant lists to our chapter website of over 30 SLO-area hikes in natural areas including the Santa Rita Ranch. These lists can be downloaded here in pdf format or through Calflora with thumbnail photos and many searchable functions. He has led plant keying workshops for our chapter, particularly on the Asteraceae (sunflower family). The chapter sells his new 2023 edition of Vascular Plants of San Luis Obispo County on our website and often at membership meetings and chapter events.
photo: Dr. David J. Keil and Cirsium occidentale venustum, Venus thistle
South Hills Natural Reserve – City of San Luis Obispo
Come see many of our spring-flowering beauties on serpentine hills, right in the middle of the City of San Luis Obispo. The series of outcrops in this park is strongly influenced by serpentinite rock, a substrate on which most plant languish due to the absence of calcium, an essential mineral for both plant and animal growth. Native wildflowers of several plant families can tolerate serpentine and create a superb display above the city. Meet at the big curve on Bluerock Drive, adjacent to Stoneridge Park (35.261984, -120.655466). This hike will be an early evening hike and we will return to the trailhead before dark (sunset is 7:30 pm).
Bring water, snacks, sunscreen, hat, sturdy shoes, and dress in layers for changing weather. A plant list for South Hills Natural Reserve can be found on our website here. A trail map is located on the City of San Luis Obispo website here. There are no bathroom facilities along the hike route. Rain or threat of rain cancel or postpone this trip.
Please register and sign a liability waiver at the link below for this event.
Click here to register in English
Click here to register in Spanish
East Cuesta Ridge Bike Ride
On, Sunday, April 13, join us for a leisurely and moderate bicycle ride with a botanical focus up East Cuesta Ridge. This ride is 10 miles roundtrip with 1,000 ft elevation gain, starting at 10 am and lasting 3 hours. East Cuesta Ridge has an amazing array of native plants only seen in a few areas of the county including rare plants such as the Santa Lucia Manzanita, as well as higher elevation species such as Tan Oak, Coulter and Knobcone Pine, and Madrone. There are also several Oak species.
Meet at the top of Cuesta Grade on Highway 101 north of the City of San Luis Obispo and park on the right side (east side) of the road, at the top of the hill (35.350301, -120.632058). Bring your bike, helmet, water, snacks, sunscreen, sturdy shoes, and dress in layers for changing weather. A plant list for “Cuesta-East” can be found on our website here. There are no bathroom facilities along the hike route. Rain or threat of rain cancel or postpone this trip.
Please register and sign a liability waiver below for this event.
Joint CNPS – Audubon Field Trip to Santa Margarita Lake NOW OPEN TO ALL
Join the California Native Plant Society San Luis Obispo Chapter (CNPS-SLO) and Morro Coast Audubon Society (MCAS) on a joint botanizing and birding field trip to Santa Margarita Lake on Saturday, March 15th, from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm with co-leaders Bill Waycott and Steve Schubert.
THIS EVENT WILL STILL BE HELD ON SATURDAY, MARCH 15. THIS EVENT IS NOW OPEN TO ANY CNPS MEMBERS, EVEN IF YOU DID NOT PREVIOUSLY SIGN UP.
PLEASE SIGN THE LIABILITY WAIVER TO REGISTER FOR THE FIELD TRIP
Due to the recent rains, County Park officials will only allow us to walk on the park roads. The hiking trails are closed. This means we will meet at the park entrance and walk from there along the road out to White Oak Picnic Area. If you have not yet signed the CNPS waiver, there will be paper copies available at the trailhead.
Meet at the Santa Margarita Park and Ride (35.383257, -120.628256) at 9:00 am to regroup into carpools. There is a $12 per car entry fee into Santa Margarita Lake park, however, carpool vehicles are admitted without charge. Once inside the park entrance, proceed to the right, then right again to a parking area (35.324431, -120.492891).
Bring water, snacks, sunscreen, hat, sturdy shoes, and dress in layers for changing weather. A plant list for Santa Margarita Lake can be found on our website here. There are restroom facilities at the park. Rain or threat of rain cancel or postpone this trip.
For more information, Bill at #(805) 459-2103 or Steve #(805) 440-9390.
Bike Ride – Santa Margarita Lake
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 10:00 am, Santa Margarita Lake Bike Ride. Join us for an autumn bike ride along the south shore of the lake. This is an out-and-back ride of roughly 6 miles on paved and dirt roads, with an elevation gain of 250 feet and one steep hill on the return of 60 feet. For advanced riders, there is an alternative route on trails in the hills with the same destination. Vaca Flats is the turn around point, a good place for an early lunch at picnic tables.
Bring water, snacks, bike helmet, and dress in layers for changing weather. A plant list for Santa Margarita Lake area can be found on our website here. Rain or threat of rain cancels or postpones this trip.
Meet at 10 am at the Old Rinconada Store at the intersection of West Pozo Road and Santa Margarita Lake Road. (35.318269, -120.508201). For carpooling, meet at the Santa Margarita Park-and-Ride Lot (35.383290, -120.628037) at 9:15 am.
This event will be canceled in the event of excessive heat.
Please sign the liability waiver HERE to register for this event.
Santa Rita Ranch Bioblitz
To celebrate California Biodiversity Day, we are partnering with the California Central Coast Chapter of The Western Section of The Wildlife Society and the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County to conduct a bioblitz at Santa Rita Ranch. Join your fellow naturalists in a rapid-style biological survey at the 1,715-acre preserve in San Luis Obispo County on rural lands between Cayucos and Templeton. You will be participating in a community science project by recording observations of plants and wildlife species on the preserve through the iNaturalist or Seek cell phone applications. On Friday, September 13th, enter the gate at Santa Rita Ranch off Old Creek Road (specific address provided during registration), then drive on the well-maintained dirt road approximately 400 feet to the main ranch buildings where we will get organized (there are bathrooms at the main ranch buildings). The gate will be open only between 8:00 and 8:10 am; you will not be able to access the preserve or participate if you arrive after 8:10 am. After a brief overview of the Santa Rita Ranch preserve, we will break into small groups and head out into the preserve. Some groups may go to the pond, some may head up into the native grass meadow, and some may stroll around the oak riparian woodlands. Each group will collect as many species observations (plants and animals) as they can. Then we will re-group and share results.
Before the bioblitz day, please download the iNaturalist app or the similar Seek app on your cell phone if you don’t already have it, create an account, join the CA Biodiversity Week Project on iNat, and spend a little time learning how to upload data. Or, if you don’t feel inclined to use the apps, you can participate as a botanical or wildlife spotter. This event may involve hiking short distances, possibly off-trail or over uneven terrain. Provide your own water and/or snacks, come dressed for a variety of weather, and bring whatever you need to protect yourself from possible mosquitos and poison oak.
A plant list is available for Santa Rita Ranch here.
SIGN UP FOR THIS EVENT here and sign the electronic waiver here beforehand. The Land Conservancy gate to the the Santa Rita Ranch Preserve is on the EAST side of Old Creek Road at these latitude/longitude coordinates: 35.527907, -120.856991, and here is a link to that location on Google Maps. Do not be confused by other map features that say “Santa Rita Ranch” – there are several historic and contemporary land developments also called Santa Rita Ranch.
Email president@cccctws.org with questions.