These plants grow in the wild on North facing slopes where they have shade for part of the day. They receive less than 15 inches of rain per year. They grow up to 15 feet and can form an impenetrable wall. Many of them are drought deciduous, which means that they adapt to a dry climate by losing their leaves in the hot summer months and coming back to life when the rains return. This once was a common habitat in Southern California. We now have growing in our garden:

Bladderpod (Isomeris arborea); Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasiculatum); Bush Mallow (Malacothamnus fasiculatus); Bush Monkey Flower (Mimulus longiflorus); California Fushia (Zauschneria californica); California sunflower (Encelia californica); Chamise (Adentostoma fasiculatum); Chaparral Broom (Baccharis saratoides); Coastal Buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium); Coastal Cholla (Opuntia prolifera); Coastal Spice Bush (Cneoridum dumosum); Coastal Quail Bush (Atriplex lentiformis); Coyote Bush (Baccharis piluaris); Douglas Nightshade (Solanum douglasii); four Winged Saltbush (Atiplex canescens); Fremontia (Freemontodendrum mexicanum); Golden Bush (Isocoma menzii); Gooseberry (Ribes speciosum); Jojoba (Simmondia chinensis); Heart-leafed Penstemon (Keckelia cordifolius); Laurel Sumac (Malosma arbutifolia); Lemonade Berry (Rhus integrifolia); Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulteri); Monkey Flower (Mimulus puniceus); Needle Grass (Nasella cernua); Onion (Allium ssp.); Purple Nightshade (Solanum xantii); Redberry (Rhamnus crocea); San Diego Sunflower (Viguiera lacinata); Sugar Bush (Rhus ovata); Sweet Pea (Lathyrus splendens); Toyon (Hetermoles arbutifolia); White Sage (Salvia apiana); Wild Honeysuckle (Lonicera subspicata); Wooly Blue Curls (Trichostema lanatum);

Bush Mallow and Coastal Quail Bush in 5/97

Fremontia in May of 1998

By May ,1999 the Chaparral Mallow has produced many offspring and the Quail Bush has grown much larger. One of garden signs is in the foreground.

(To Find out about the different animals which live in the chaparral community in California, you can visit these sites: chaparral animals,and chaparral insects.

To learn more details about these creatures you can go to the San Diego Natural History Museum's Illustrated Field Guides page,