Trees and Shrubs

At first, I wasn’t really sure that I liked the scrubby oaks with the sharp pointy leaves, but now I admire their strength and craggy bark in mottled grays and browns. I love the Ponderosa pines, though, and their dark green against the blue of the sky.  I’ve learned about the habits and blooms of the  shrubs, finding new ones now and then to my delight.

Here is the rest of the bunch, the native trees and shrubs on our property next to the Sierra National Forest on the east side of Malum Ridge, 3000 feet in Zone 7.

Trees

Interior Live Oaks Quercus wislizenii

Interior Live Oaks Quercus wislizenii, the most common oak here.

The Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizeni is one of the red oaks, living mostly in the lower elevations of the Sierra Nevada. The leaves are oval and toothed and the flowers are catkins that hang down from the branch tips. The evergreen leaves last a long time on the ground and locals say they never break down, so don’t walk barefoot under them!  Don’t plant or irrigate within ten feet of them to prevent death from over watering. They are often shrubby and when cut down, will regrow thickly from the base. Trim all branches ten foot up for fire safety. In April the catkins drop powdery yellow dust over all things near it and can cause allergies.  Also in April the oak worms spin webs all through the branches, reflecting the sun.

 

Buckeye in bloom

Buckeye in bloom

California Buckeye, Aesculus californica
Buckeyes are the first to leaf out in early spring and the first to turn brown in summer and that alone makes them easy to identify. Just when most plants are in full bloom, the Buckeye fades. A small deciduous tree, growing to 15 feet, it has 6 inch long, candle shaped blooms. In fall you may find piles of bulb-like seeds under their branches or on the road where they grow on a bank above. They easily sprout when planted and you neighbors may also have buckets of them to share. More on Buckeyes

 

California Black Oak Quercus kelloggii

California Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii), is also in the red oak family and has leaves that are deeply lobed, pointed and sometimes as large as your hand. Taller in size and more upright than the Interior oak, the Black Oak is 30-70 ft in height and deciduous, making it very desirable in the garden because it turns bright gold, orange and red in the fall.

 

Oracle oak leaves and bark

Oracle oak, Quercus morehus, leaves and bark

Oracle oak, Quercus morehus, only occurs in areas where there are lots of one of the parent species and not many of the other parent and between Oak ‘sub-tribes’ that are related to each other. The leaf looks like a cross between the big lobed Black Oak leaf and the small, sometimes serrated Live Oak leaf. It is an interesting occurrence and they are beautiful trees. They are deciduous and turn a mellow gold in Fall. More on Oracle Oak

 

Ponderosa pine decorated Nature's way

Ponderosa pine decorated Nature’s way

Ponderosa Pine, Pinus ponderosa, deep green, has a single trunk and long needles.  The bark is a bit orange with black inside the splits. Its cones are small, the size of oranges and it grows all along the on foothills and mid-height peaks of the Sierra Nevada. They look beautiful against a blue sky.

 

Grey pines are forked about halfway up

Grey pines are forked about halfway up

Gray Pine, Pinus sabineana, is easy to identify, having a forked trunk and a grey green color. The cones are large and heavy and look like they could pop a tire.  You know you’re between 2000 and 4000 feet in the foothills if you see this pine, also known as Bull Pine, Ghost Pine or Foothill Pine. More on the Bull Pine

Shrubs

Buckbrush Ceanothus cuneatus, three sizes

Buckbrush Ceanothus cuneatus, three sizes

Buckbrush, Ceanothus cuneatus, or Wedgeleaf Ceanothus is an upright fountain shaped shrub, in the wild lilac family, with small, oval gray-green leaves.  It has whitish stems and branches and blooms with one inch round white or yellowish, flowers in spring. Deer do nibble at this attractive evergreen, but there is so much of it that it thrives here. You can shape it as an informal hedge or accent.  It can take a bit of irrigation, but needs no additional water.

 

Deer Brush, Ceanothus integerrimus

Deer Brush, Ceanothus integerrimus

Deerbrush, Ceanothus integerrimus, is very similar to Buckbrush, but grows wider than tall, often 5 feet high and 6 feet wide. It blooms profusely in the spring with 3-4” airy white or cream conical sprays of flowers like any lilac, turning wedding white as the weeks go by.  Deer browse it, but don’t harm it. It’s very desirable in the wild garden.

Elderberry, Sambucus racemosa

Elderberry, Sambucus racemosa

Blue Elderberry, Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea, is a deciduous shrub or small tree, growing up to as tall as 30 feet. It is native from Oregon to Baja all the way to western Texas. It has creamy yellow flowers in the spring and purple berries in the fall.  It’s berries are one of the most important source of food for birds in California.

 

Flannel bush, Fremontodendron californicum

Flannel bush, Fremontodendron californicum

Flannel Bush, Fremontodendron californicum, named in honor of Captain John C. Frémont, is an evergreen growing from 10 to 20 feet high or taller on the dry slopes of the foothills. Large, bright buttercup yellow flowers cover the branches to make these glowing shrubs easy to spot in the Spring. They have dusty grey-green foliage that’s sticky and raspy to the touch. In the garden they can be tamed a bit by careful pruning. 

 

First off we pass the redbud blooming...

First off we pass the redbud blooming…

Western Redbud Cercis occidentalis
In late May, the hills along the Auberry Road are covered in Redbud, with their magenta or dark pink, branches covered with the vivid blossoms. Redbuds are relatively small fountain shaped deciduous trees growing 15 feet tall and having round leaves. These leaves are an easy way to tell Western from Eastern, as Eastern have heart shaped leaves, with pointy ends. Eastern redbuds are much less adaptive to our area, so read labels when choosing one. Redbuds turn bright red-orange in fall and in winter have long reddish brown pods that hang down.  Redbud flowers are edible and used as an attractive garnish on salads. When green and tender, redbud pods can be cooked, buttered like green beans!

 

Arctostaphylos viscida blooms, tiny vase-shaped

Arctostaphylos viscida blooms, tiny vase-shaped

Sticky Whiteleaf Manzanita Arctostaphylos viscida
Manzanita is the most stylized structural tree in the foothills. Identifiable by most anyone, it has distinctive red bark and sage green leaves. Whiteleaf manzanita has pink flowers. Growing 15-20 feet tall, they grow in groves, covering large areas of the hillsides. They are also well known for their twisted branches, used as perches in large bird cages, and by interior decorators in large vases! Manzanita are alleopathic, meaning they have a toxin, coumarin, which acts as a natural weed killer preventing plant competition. Not much can grow under them, so once you remove any weeds and leaf litter around them, they become sculptural accents in the garden. You’ll see an example in the slideshow below.

 

Poison Oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum

Poison Oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum

Poison oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum, is a shrub
that is native to California and other places in the West. The shiny green, beautiful oak-like leaves grow from underground roots under oak trees and can also become a vine climbing high into the tree, searching for the sun.
Jokingly called our California Fall color, it turns a lovely red or red-orange in thick patches or colonies along the roadsides. When coming in contact with poison oak, an oil called urushiol, locks into your skin and in three days you find out whether you are sensitive to it. Wearing lotion out to an infested area, with the usual cover-ups such as gloves and long sleeves can protect you if you have to work around it in the garden.

 

Mountain Mahogany Cercocarpus betuloides

Mountain Mahogany Cercocarpus betuloides

Mountain Mahogany Cercocarpus betuloides
California Mountain Mahogany is an evergreen vase shaped tree, growing to only 8-10 feet. The whole plant appears silver in the late summer due to the feathery pods. The oval leaves are fine textured, very small and fan shaped, making this an ideal tree to feature in the garden by grooming it a bit.

 

Goldenfleece Ericameria arborescens

Goldenfleece Ericameria arborescens

Goldenfleece, Ericameria arborescens, is a fast growing shrub to 10 feet, often a fire follower that blooms just at the time in the September when most plants are fading. It has fuzzy bright yellow flowers and needle thin leaves. The three 10 foot tall plants found here finally split and collapsed, ten years after we came, but gave way to about 15-20 others a bit lower down the slope which all bloomed brightly the next Fall.

Oregon Grape, Mahonia aquifolium

Oregon Grape, Mahonia aquifolium, is a North American native plant, particularly to the Pacific Northwest regionIts genus name honors Bernard McMahon, an Irish-American nurseryman and contemporary of President Thomas Jefferson. The evergreen leaves of Mahonia are very similar to English holly, spined, leathery and stiff, making them useful in cut-flower arrangements. If pollinated, the yellow flowers are followed by tart, large-seeded berries that turn dark blue when ripe (and resemble grapes). The fruit is beneficial to wildlife and can be cooked into a delicious jelly.

Thick leafed Yerba Santa, Eriodictyon crassifolium

Thick leafed Yerba Santa, Eriodictyon crassifolium

Yerba Santa, Eriodictyon crassifolium
A neighbor and former Park Service employee identified the Yerba Santa, meaning “sacred herb” in Spanish and grows everywhere on the property.  Eriodictyon crassifolium, or thick-leaved Yerba Santa is native to California, where it grows freely in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.  Growing three to six feet tall, the shiny, wavy edged leaves are 4 or 5 inches long, gray-green and toothed along the edges, with clusters of bell-shaped lavender flowers in June. In the garden, it looks its best when trimmed to the ground sometime after blooming.

 

Rhamnus ilicifolia Hollyleaf Redberry

Rhamnus ilicifolia Hollyleaf Redberry

Hollyleaf Redberry, Rhamnus crocea ilicifolia
This small slender evergreen shrub, new to me, was discovered in the native area, an island between the old and new driveways, under the oaks. I spotted the shiny red berries in early September, five years after moving in here. The plant resembles an oak, in branch and leaf and it said to be slow growing. Nondescript, I’d say, with the berries being the main attraction.

Perennials and Grasses

Ephemerals and wildflowers

Existing weeds and non-natives

Wildlife in the Sierra Foothill Garden

25 comments

  1. MJH - Reply

    I thought you would like to know that California Buckeye is poisonous to bees. Of course, given a choice, they will visit other plants. But when none can be found, they will go to the Buckeye even thought it is devastating to the hive.

    • John - Reply

      I’m all for honeybees, but support your native pollinators, as well. Because a non-native bee finds toxicity in the honey and nectar produced by our native buckeye, I don’t find that reason enough to not introduce into my landscape, both for forage and habitat for critters that have used buckeye for years. I love you honeybees, don’t fly by any buckeye farms

  2. Sue Langley - Reply

    Hi MJH, you are right!

    Although I don’t have California Buckeye on my property, they grow wild all through the foothills around Oakhurst and Yosemite. I did a post on them here, and consulted with an expert on bees. He had some interesting things to say.

  3. manza - Reply

    Your description of Sticky Whiteleaf Manzanita on this page says we can see them in your slideshow below, but I don’t see a slideshow on this page. Did you move it?

    I would love to see these manzanitas since I have never heard of this particular one. I have 7 species so far and know of others, but this is new to me.

  4. Marietta - Reply

    My Ericameria is getting quite tall. When should I prune it, and how much? Thank you!

    • Sue Langley - Reply

      Marietta,…you can trim it now after it blooms,…you’ll be emulating deer who would nibble at it in the wild. 🙂 Sue

        • Sue Langley - Reply

          In our wild area in the central CA foothills, they bloom in Oct-Dec. After bloom,…in general is a good time, but you could trim it now and perhaps get a bushier plant. Lucky to have one in a home garden!

  5. Marietta - Reply

    Perhaps I have a different species…. I’ve been trying for years to find out which species I have! No nurseries around here seem to know…. even our local native California nursery :/ Still, it sounds like winter would be the best time to prune my Ericameria. Thanks, Sue!

  6. Joe - Reply

    Thanks for this list, It is helpful. How complete is your tree and shrub list? I may be soon getting on with a company where I will be out on my own in the Oakhurst area doing some forestry and need to learn the trees and brush for that area. If there are more can you list them (names only are fine) or do you know of a site that would have a full list of the trees for the oakhurst area?

  7. Laurie - Reply

    Thanks for a great list. I especially like the manzanitas and have some on my property with 20-inch diameter trunks.
    Has anyone heard of Native American’s use of the Yerba Santa in preventing or treating poison oak as a tincture?

    • Sue Langley - Reply

      You are welcome! I started creating this list when we moved here and I was so curious to find out the names of all the native plants that I didn’t know! It was sort of geeky, but fun!
      No, I have heard of the native Americans using these plants but wouldn’t know how with out their experience. I can’t see how this, using Yerba Santa for Poison Oak, would be harmful, as long as you’re not ingesting any plants. 🙂

  8. Elyse - Reply

    Hi…were in North Fork, Ca and are looking for a privacy screen type bush/hedge with low water and little Sun. Any ideas?

  9. rex - Reply

    In the Mariposa area at 2,000 ft. we have lots of a plant/bush
    that looks a bit like poison oak in that is has three leaves
    but has little red berries and is very strong smelling. I don’t think
    it grows much taller the 3-5 feet. When you prune it, it smells
    much stronger than anything else around.
    I can’t find it in photos.
    Any idea?
    thanks,
    rex in the hills, eating elderberries

  10. rex - Reply

    In the Mariposa area at 2,000 ft. we have lots of a plant/bush
    that looks a bit like poison oak in that is has three leaves
    but has little red berries and is very strong smelling. I don’t think
    it grows much taller the 3-5 feet. When you prune it, it smells
    much stronger than anything else around.
    I can’t find it in photos.
    Any idea?
    thanks,
    rex in the hills, eating elderberries
    blessings to all plant eaters!

    • Sue Langley - Reply

      I don’t know, Rex,…Coffeeberry has a red berry, ’bout the size of the tip of your finger,…and Toyon has clusters of pea-sized red berries, but those don’t usually redden until winter. if you do find a picture, do send it.

  11. Dave B - Reply

    I did not note in the list of trees and bushes, the Elderberry. Where should be placed?

    Thanks.

    • Sue Langley - Reply

      Hi Dave,…I’ll have to add that,…it’s a shrub and if you have it in your garden you are fortunate,….it’s lovely three seasons and deciduous in winter. You can trim it by half to keep them bushy. I do have some nice photos of some, so thanks for the reminder.

  12. Robert - Reply

    Hi Sue.

    I recently bought a craft made of greasewood or chamise. I’m told it’s pretty abundant in the Mariposa area. What are your thoughts on this plant? Thanks and Happy Holidays!

    • Sue Langley - Reply

      Hi Robert,
      Adenostoma fasciculatum or Chamise is found along Hwy 49 from Mariposa to Coulterville, CA. In spring when it blooms a creamy white, the chaparral seems frosted. The bark close to th base of its trunk appears to peel off in ribbons, giving Chamise and a relative, Red Shanks, Adenostoma sparsifolium, the nickname of ribbonwood.

      I haven’t found any of this on my place unfortunately but I enjoy it when we drive north past Mariposa. .

  13. Judy Johnson - Reply

    Lots of Oracle Oaks on our street! Check out the big one visible from the cul de sac. A neighborhood treasure, hope it survives all the construction and driving around it. Thanks for the wonderful pictures. Did you ever take Field Bio from City College with Bob Winter? He was such an expert on our plants!

  14. Peter M Dziuk - Reply

    I took several images of red-berried shrubs in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada above Oroville in Feb, of 2020. I once had it identified but have now had all of my field guides stolen. Is there any kind of online identification source that could guide me?

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