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Recommended Species Lists

Find native plant species by state. Each list contains commercially available species suitable for gardens and planned landscapes. Once you have selected a collection, you can browse the collection or search within it using the combination search.

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Regional Spotlight: California

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Native plant: Iris douglasiana (Douglas iris, Mountain iris, Western iris) The rhizomes of Mountain iris or Douglas iris spread slowly, eventually creating a 2-4 ft. wide clump. Tufts of 1-2 ft., sword-shaped, dark-evergreen leaves arise from the rhizome and surround a flowering stalk of equal height. Several showy iris blossoms emerge from leafy bracts atop the stalks. The flowers are usually blue, though the colors can range from pale cream to yellow to reddish purple. Large, reddish-purple, pinkish, white, or cream flowers, with lilac veins, on stout branched stalks rising from clumps of sword-shaped leaves.
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Mr. Smarty Plants: Do you have a sense of a peak viewing time for Bluebonnets for this spring?
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Supplier: Antelope Valley Resource Conservation District Nursery (Lancaster, CA) We are a conservation nursery specializing in plants that are for windbreaks, soil erosion, and wildlife habitat. We carry over 125 items to support this cause.
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Organization: Calflora (Albany, CA)
Calflora is an online gateway to information about California wild plants. We integrate data and images holdings from many separate sources into a single library, in order to give scientists, citizens and policymakers easy access to data they need for analyzing species distributions, identifying consequences of habitat loss, and appreciating the beauty and diversity of California plant life.
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Book: "California Wildfire Landscaping" (Dallas: Taylor Pub.) From Booklist: An explanation of the history of California's wildfires and how they develop is Gilmer's introduction to this guide to assisting homeowners in preventing a devastating loss. Advice deals with areas pertaining to planning the construction and siting of a home, the managing of native plantings, landscaping with so-called fire-resistant ornamental plants and irrigating systems, designing groupings of various species, and maintaining plants and equipment. Additional counsel covers coping with a wildfire and erosion control. Gilmer lists support agencies for those who have suffered the effects of a fire and provides resources for the purchase of plants. This practical handbook features informative tips throughout and should prove useful for California residents concerned with learning as much as possible about "firescaping." Alice Joyce
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