California Native Trees for the Landscape
There are many California native trees that work well in landscapes. Our locally native trees deserve to be cultivated more often in the San Francisco Bay area, and this list focuses primarily on them. They are well adapted to our climate and soils and provide special value for wildlife. For more information about these trees, please visit calscape.org.
Trees 20 Feet and Under
Blue Elderberry (Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea) is a fast growing deciduous tree with summer fruit that attract a wider range of birds than any other tree. Songbirds favor it highly for food and nesting. It is easy to grow and can adapt to both dry and moist conditions. It is very amenable to pruning.
Western Redbud (Cercis occidentalis) is a deciduous tree that is covered in stunning pink flowers just before leaf emergence in the spring. It is a small tree - growing up to 20' and is fairly tolerant of a wide variety of soils, including clay. While not locally native, it grows well in the Bay Area. There are some beautiful specimens growing near the CNPS SCV Nursery at Hidden Villa in Los Altos Hills.
Arctostaphylos 'Dr. Hurd' (Dr. Hurd Manzanita) is a lovely choice if you need a small tree. While most manzanitas are closer to shrub in size, this is one of the tallest and can grow up to 15' tall (and wide). It originated in a garden in Portola Valley and does well in a wide variety of garden situations.
Ceanothus 'Ray Hartman' can grow up to 20' and is covered in beautiful blue flowers in early spring. It grows fairly quickly and is a good choice if you need a small, well-behaved tree. It can also be trained as a large shrub.
Western Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides) is found through much of the state. It can reach 15-20’. It can be trained into a single-trunked tree, but is often shrub-like in form with several main trunks when left to grow freely. In late spring, this small tree is covered with 1 - 2 inch long spiral seed heads which appear silver in the afternoon light.
The California Scrub Oak (Quercus berberidifolia) is a small oak that can reach up to 20'. However it grows very slowly, and is usually found as a small, compact shrub. A good choice for those who do not have the space for one of the larger oaks. Can be difficult to find in nurseries. Learn why it's important to plant oaks.
Trees Over 20 Feet
Valley oak (Quercus lobata) and coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) grow fairly quickly and are easy to cultivate. Another wonderful local oak is canyon live oak (Quercus chrysolepis). This is the most widely distributed of our native oaks in California.While ancient trees which grew to maturity under summer dry conditions may resent summer irrigation, young oaks adapt to garden watering. Indeed, under garden conditions seedling oaks may reach 25 feet in ten years--they actually grow faster than many commonly planted trees! Learn why it's important to plant oaks.
Hollyleaf Cherry (Prunus ilicifolia) is a pretty evergreen tree with leaves that look similar to holly. It has pretty white flower clusters in the spring followed by small cherries with large pits that are popular with birds. It can grow up to 50' tall.
California Buckeye (Aesculus californica) is a beautiful tree with spectacular flower clusters in late winter and early spring. While it can grow up to 40' tall, it grows quite slowly, making it practical for even smaller gardens. Read this wonderful article about buckeyes by Roger Raiche to learn more about this lovely tree.
The California Bay Laurel (Umbellularia californica) becomes a stately evergreen tree that can reach 60'. Its fragrant leaves can be used in cooking (although in smaller quantities than its Mediterranean relative, the bay tree). It releases chemicals that supress other plants from growing, so it should not be siturated where understory plantings are desired.
The Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii) is one of the world's most beautiful broadleaf evergreen trees. It can grow up to 100', but is more commonly 25-40' in dry conditions. It be challenging to cultivate in a home garden, but it is a spectactular addition to the garden for those who are fortunate enough to grow it successfully.
Big-leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) is very attractive, but it needs some moisture and does well when planted close to a water source. It can grow over 65' tall so be sure to plant it where there is enough space because it is fast growing in the right conditions.
The coast redwood is met with too often in cultivation locally. It does best when planted in cool areas with significant fog drip. The temptation to plant this tree in dry inland areas has resulted in many dead or dying trees. Unless you live in an area where these trees grow naturally, resist the urge to plant one.
Locally Native Trees for Landscaping
By Jeff Caldwell
With the possible exception of the coast redwood and white alder, most of our locally native trees deserve to be cultivated more often in the San Francisco Bay area. Many are beautiful and easy to grow--they are well adapted to our climate and soils. Native trees offer special values for wildlife as well.
Big-leaf maple is a very attractive species, and also fast growing--it deserves a place in more landscapes.
The gray pine is a quite ornamental tree in cultivation and more drought tolerant and more resistant to air pollution than most pines.
Contrary to general opinion, the valley oak and coast live oak, two beautiful heritage species, grow fairly quickly and are easy to cultivate. While ancient trees which grew to maturity under summer dry conditions may resent irrigation, young oaks adapt to garden watering. Indeed, under garden conditions seedling oaks may reach 25 feet in ten years--they actually grow faster than many commonly planted trees! Our native oaks deserve to be planted far more often than they are; happily, they are becoming more popular.
The California nutmeg is an unusual conifer and not difficult to grow, though a bit slow. Its needles are extremely sharp, so it should not be planted near a path.
Our California laurel becomes a stately tree. It is slow growing, but well-situated specimens are a fine gift to future generations.
The coast redwood is met with often enough in cultivation locally, some say too often. It would be refreshing to see it mixed more often in man-made landscapes with its proven companions in the natural landscape, especially Douglas fir, tanbark oak and California laurel. Other possible redwood companions include big-leaf maple, white alder, coast live oak, interior live oak, California nutmeg, black cottonwood, and madrone.
Many people long to grow the madrone, one of the world's most beautiful broadleaf evergreen trees. It has not proven easy to cultivate, but if you like a gardening challenge, try this treasure!
Two of our native trees regarded as "ugly ducklings" deserve to be mentioned here especially for those who garden with wildlife in mind.
The California buckeye has lovely structure, interesting fruits, spectacular flowers, exquisite spring foliage--but a decided off-season as the deciduous leaves turn brown in the summer; it is the first to drop its leaves. Its flowers are despised by some because their pollen is somewhat toxic to the non-native honeybee, but no flowers have more value to butterflies. In bloom this tree may be festooned with butterflies; we have seen seven species nectaring on one tree simultaneously! The tiger swallowtail, mourning cloak, California sister, California tortoiseshell, spring azure and many others visit this tree. It is easy to grow.
The blue elderberry is considered too coarse and "common" by many gardeners, but the summer fruits attract a wider range of birds than any other tree. Songbirds favor it highly for food and nesting. It is easy to grow and very fast. A stump-sprouter, it is amenable to pruning, which may help keep it presentable.
Native Trees of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties
| Aceraceae (Maple Family) |
| Acer macrophyllum |
big-leaf maple |
| Acer negundo var. californicum |
box elder |
| Betulaceae (Birch Family) |
| Alnus rhombifolia |
white alder |
| Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle Family) |
| Sambucus mexicana |
blue elderberry |
| Ericaceae (Heath Family) |
| Arbutus menziesii |
Pacific madrone |
| Fagaceae (Oak Family) |
| Lithocarpus densiflorus |
tanbark oak |
| Quercus agrifolia |
coast live oak |
| Quercus chrysolepis |
canyon live oak |
| Quercus douglasii |
blue oak |
| Quercus garryana |
Oregon white oak |
| Quercus kelloggii |
California black oak |
| Quercus lobata |
valley oak |
| Quercus wislizeni |
interior live oak |
| Hippocastanaceae (Buckeye Family) |
| Aesculus californica |
California buckeye |
| Lauraceae (Laurel Family) |
| Umbellularia californica |
California laurel |
| Oleaceae (Olive Family) |
| Fraxinus dipetala |
flowering ash |
| Fraxinus latifolia |
Oregon ash |
| Pinaceae (Pine Family) |
| Pinus attenuata |
knobcone pine |
| Pinus ponderosa |
Pacific ponderosa pine |
| Pinus sabiniana |
gray pine |
| Pseudotsuga menziesii |
Douglas fir |
| Platanaceae (Sycamore Family) |
| Platanus racemosa |
Western sycamore |
| Salicaceae (Willow Family) |
| Populus fremontii ssp. fremontii |
Fremont cottonwood |
| Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa |
black cottonwood |
| Salix laevigata |
red willow |
| Salix lasiolepis |
arroyo willow |
| Salix lucida ssp. lasiandra |
shining willow |
| Taxaceae (Yew Family) |
| Torreya californica |
California nutmeg |
| Taxodiaceae (Bald Cypress Family) |
| Sequoia sempervirens |
redwood |
References:
Ferris, Roxana S. 1968. Native Shrubs of the San Francisco Bay Region. University of California Press.
Hickman, James C. (ed.). 1993. The Jepson Manual Higher Plants of California. University of California Press.
Metcalf, Woodbridge. 1959. Native Trees of the San Francisco Bay Region. University of California Press.
Sharsmith, Helen K. 1982. Flora of the Mount Hamilton Range of California. California Native Plant Society.
Thomas, John Hunter. 1961. Flora of the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. Stanford University Press.
Prepared by Jeff Caldwell (revised 2/98)
Public Gardens of Native Plants
These gardens provide opportunities to see a wide variety of native plants throughout the year.
Parks, Arboreta and Public Gardens
Lake Cunningham Native Plant Garden, 2305 S. White Road, San Jose (https://maps.app.goo.gl/3qdV4Zu14ReZu3q27) .This Native Garden covers a 2 acre swath between the southeastern end of the lake and the adjacent dirt parking lot. Founded in 2002, the garden is filled with California native wildflowers, perennials, and shrubs.
Native Plant Garden in Kirk Park
Jeffrey Fontana Park, intersection of Meridian Ave and Oakglen Way, San Jose. Across the street from 1278 Oakglen Way, San Jose. A beautiful selection of mature and new native plant gardens. Many of the plants are labelled.
Capitancillos Drive Native Plant Demonstration Garden, intersection of Capitancillos Drive and Oak Canyon Place. Extensive collection of chaparral shrubs and plants. Plants are labelled.
Ulistac Natural Area, Lick Mill Boulevard, Santa Clara. This 40-acre site was saved from development in 2001 and is the only dedicated natural open space in the City of Santa Clara.
Berger Native Demonstration Garden, 1553 Berger Drive, San Jose, CA 95112. The always-open Berger Native Demonstration Garden showcases a range of drought-tolerant California native plants. It's a great example of what a lawn-replacement project might look like. The garden was created in Fall 2013.
Native Garden Wheel at Emma Prusch Farm Park.
Master Gardeners Parcel at Martial Cottle Park, , 5283 Snell Ave, San Jose, CA 95136. This 4 acre parcel includes a a thriving Native Garden.
Master Gardeners San Carlos Native Plant Habitat Garden, 610 Elm St, San Carlos, CA 94070 (Between the San Carlos Library and San Carlos City Hall). This 8,000 square foot demonstration garden is filled with native California plants that were chosen to create a diverse community that provides food for wildlife, attracting birds, butterflies, and other pollinators. Started in 2019.
Master Gardeners Palo Alto Demo Garden, 851 Center Dr, Palo Alto, CA 94301 (Eleanor Pardee Park). The Water Wise Garden (always open to the public) includes many California native plants.
Bol Park Native Garden, This public garden is in a Palo Alto park, Cornelis Bol Park. The overall design of the garden is to maintain a wildlands look and to provide wildlife habitat. It includes a large area of hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea), California Buckeye, Western Redbud Fremont's Cottonwood and many others.
Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverley Street, Palo Alto CA 94301. This garden includes a .3 acre parcel that features water-wise California Native Plants, including many Pacific Coast Iris hybrids that bloom in late winter.
Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto Native Demonstration Garden, 505 East Charleston Road, Palo Alto. This very appealing garden is in front of the Unitarian Universalist Church; part of the garden was done in 2014 and contains mature plants, the other part was done in 2018 and contains much younger plants. The garden was designed with wildlife habitat in mind, and attracts various birds.
Primrose Way Pollinator Garden Collection, Primrose Way at Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto. On the area of about 20 by 200 feet, a couple dozen of carefully selected species of low-growing shrubs (e.g., Salvia "Bee's Bliss", CA buckwheat, ceanothus "Skylark", perennials (e.g., lilac verbena, milkweed, yarrow, goldenrod, bee plant, CA fuchsia, rosy ans saffron buckwheats), and various annuals (e.g. poppies, clarkias, baby blue eyes), coexist in harmonious arrangement.
Stevens Creek Trail, Mountain View. New landscaping is all natives. Plants include ceanothus, iris, fremontodendrons, elderberry, sages, native roses, buckeye, alder, and sycamore. Landscaping starts at La Avenida (off Shoreline, where there's a trailhead), then follows Stevens Creek for about a mile south to Central Expressway.
Portola Valley Town Center, 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley. Native garden next to the Historic Schoolhouse.
Centennial Park, El Camino Real at Floribunda, Hillsborough. Mixed planting of drought tolerant species includes many California natives.
City of San Carlos Native Plant Garden, 600 Elm Street, San Carlos. This big, well-designed, and well-labeled native plant garden by the San Carlos City Hall is right between the library parking lot and the dog park. One area has a focus on hummingbird-attracting plants and includes hummingbird sage, manzanita, and monkeyflower. A second area is for pollinators and includes coyote mint, yarrow, and milkweed. A part-shade area shows off ferns and native iris.
Woodside Library Garden, 3140 Woodside Road, Woodside. The garden (in the back of the library) is composed entirely of California native plants. It is open to the public during library hours: Mon-Thu 11-7; Fri-Sat 11-5. It is maintained by the Woodside-Atherton Garden Club. There is a brochure with a map of the different plants.
Regional Parks Botanic Garden. Tilden Park, Berkeley. The largest collection of California native plants in the world, with plenty to excite the native gardener.
Strybing Arboretum, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. Contains a section devoted to California natives, the Arthur Menzies Native Garden.
UC Berkeley Botanic Garden, Strawberry Canyon, Berkeley. 200 Centennial Drive, #5045, Berkeley, CA 94720. (510) 642-0849. 13 acres of California natives.
UC Santa Cruz Arboretum, Empire Grade, UCSC Campus, Santa Cruz. Large sections devoted to plants from California, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, and a "Natives Come First" Garden.
Overfelt Gardens, Educational Park Drive (at McKee), San Jose. A section of this city park called "California Wild" is devoted to California natives.
Colleges
West Valley College. 14000 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga. California native plants dominate the grounds at the West Valley College campus in Saratoga.
Native Hill at Foothill College. Foothill College, 12345 Moody Road, Los Altos Hills. Begun in 1982 by former faculty member Robert Will as a teaching aid for students, this small patch of land grew to house 170 species within one acre of land. .
Cheeseman Environmental Study Area. De Anza College, corner of Stelling & McLellan (inside the campus), Cupertino. Over 300 species of native plants representing 12 natural communities.
Duncan Hall Botanical & Habitat Garden. San Jose State University, San Salvador St (near 4th St), San Jose. Planted in the mid-1980s, this 4,000 sq.ft. area is landscaped with natives such as lemonade berry, Brewer's saltbush, spice bush, coffeeberry, and toyon, and home to a variety of species of birds, bees, squirrels, and lizards. It was maintained by the Natural History Club. [No longer there - link has been retained since there is useful plant information there]
Mission College. 3000 Mission College Boulevard, Santa Clara. New plantings of natives.
A California Native Garden at Stanford. Stanford University, Palo Alto. Designed by Meg Webster and installed in 2002, this garden replaced a lawn that was surrounded by redwoods, giant sequoias and coast live oaks.
Schools
Gardens associated with schools may not be open to the public. Please contact the school for information about visiting.
Cherry Chase Elementary School. 1138 Heatherstone Way, Sunnyvale. (408) 522-8241. A small native plant garden is located on a piece of land right next to the street.
Osborne Nature Area at Peterson. A 2-acre site planted in 1970 with native plants from eight biotic communities. Peterson Middle School, 1380 Rosalia Way, Sunnyvale.
Hacienda Environmental Science Magnet School. A 1-acre site planted in 1971, contains redwood forest, oak woodland, chaparral, grassland, streamside and pond habitats. Hacienda Environmental Science Magnet School, 1290 Kimberly Drive, San Jose.
Others (outside Santa Clara Valley)
Forrest Deaner Native Plant Botanic Garden, Dillon Point Rd, Benicia, CA 94510. The garden covers 3.5 acres in the Benicia State Recreation Area. The Garden is an ideal setting for learning about native plants and how they may be used in home gardens and other landscape projects.
Larner Seeds Demonstration Garden. A 1-acre site planted in 1980 with plants from several biotic communities. Definitely worth a visit. 235 Grove Road, Bolinas. Tue, Thu 10-2, Sat 12-4.
Pacific Grove Museum Of Natural History, 165 Forest Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA 93950. (408) 648-3116. Winter home of migrating monarch butterflies.
Asilomar Conference Grounds,
800 Asilomar Boulevard, Pacific Grove, CA 93950. (831) 372-8016. Worth a visit for the dune restoration project. The plant nursery includes a 960 square-foot greenhouse, which grows more than 400,000 plants, representing 25 native species for transplantation on the grounds.
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This page originally compiled by Arvind Kumar with input from Bracey Tiede, Tanya Kucak, and Wendy Winkler.
Do you want a garden teeming with life? One that changes with the seasons? One that looks stunning? One that saves water, energy, effort, and money? Consider incorporating California native plants in your garden to attract butterflies, birds, and other wildlife. These beautiful plants will bring seasonal color to your landscape. They will give your California garden a unique sense of place.
