Download the Native Plant Field Guide
Our RoleThe core mission of the National Park Service is to protect and preserve natural resources, processes, systems, and values of the parks they manage. Our philosophy is protect, and restore when necessary, native ecosystems and let natural processes play out. Park Rangers and Volunteers document their observations of flora and fauna. Scientists conduct research to try to understand the status and trends of the species and systems they protect. This information is vital to advising park management and philosophy.
Our Mediterranean EcosystemThe Mediterranean ecosystem at Cabrillo is made up of plants that have adapted to warm, dry summers and cool winters with a few storms lasting a few days at a time. To survive through the dry season, some plants found in the habitats have large roots, or bodies, where they store water to use when needed. Other plants have leaf adaptations that prevent the loss of water.These adaptations include leaves that fall off during dry seasons, leaves that curl up and make a small moisture chamber within the leaf, leaves with a waxy coating that protects them from evaporation, leaves with hairs that reflect light penetrating the plant, or leaves that are small in size so there is not a lot of area for evaporation. 
The power of sunlight plays a huge role in the plant communities here at Cabrillo National Monument. The park can be divided into two main plant communities. The first community, called Coastal Sage Scrub, is populated by small plants only growing to a height of three (3) feet. The plants tend to be spread out and brown dirt is often seen in these areas. This community is usually found on southern facing slopes. Here the sun shines directly on everything for most of the day. Chaparral, the second community, is categorized by woody shrubs that can grow to eight (8) feet. These shrubs grow close together with little bare ground between plants. This community is usually found on northern facing slopes where the sun does not shine directly and there is more shade. As you look around the park try to notice the differences. Where the plants are tall and it would be close to impossible to walk through them, this is the Chaparral. The Coastal Sage Scrub is our most sensitive habitat. The plants here are fighting to stay alive and you can help them most, by staying on the paths and letting these special plants have a chance of survival. 
Bladder Pod (Peritoma arborea) 
Flowers Present: August-December Woody shrub <7’, leaves often not evident, twiggy-broomlike in appearance, small white yellowish male flowers, small white fluffy female flowers 
California Flattop Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) 
Flowers Present: August-December Erect or spreading many branched <4’ tall, soft aromatic gray-blue linear leaves, small discoid yellow-green flowers 
Flowers Present: February-June Branched <4’tall, ovate gray-green smooth edged alternate leaves, yellow ray petals surrounding brown-black disk flowers 
Flowers Present: May-July Basal rosette of wide fleshy green leaves with white “chalk”, tall branched stalks with many red flowers <3’ tall 
Flowers Present: January-August Gray twiggy looking in drought <3’tall, small green leaves, tiny white with maroon center flowers after rain 
Flowers Present: April-June <6’ tall, 2” diameter <12” green segment with many spines, magenta flowers with green filaments 
Flowers Present: February-June <2’ tall, gray-green with 15-39 leaflets, cream-white flower heads, rounded seed pods 
Flowers Present: May-June Green flat rounded pads (nopalitos) with 4-10 spines from areole, yellow flowers and red fruits (tuna) 
Flowers Present: April-July Shrub <6’ tall, softly lobed felty leaves, pink with orangish center flowers bundled along stalk 
Flowers Present: August-December Woody shrub <7’ tall, small narrow toothed ovate light green leaves, small yellowish male flowers, small white fluffy female flowers 
Flowers Present: March-August Gray-green twigs <4’ tall, 3-6 inconspicuous leaflets, small yellow turning to orange flowers with “deer’s ears” 
Flowers Present: June-August Green fading to brown long wide erect leafed grass <8’ tall, spiked slender noded flower (seeds) 
Flowers Present: May-June Basal rosette of gray-green fleshy cylindrical “finger” leaves , creamy-white 5 petal star shaped flowers atop branched stalks <18” tall 
Flowers Present: February-May Woody gray barked bush <15’ tall, dark green leathery serrated leaves, flowers white or pink, red waxy berries 
Flowers Present: April-May Large rosette of pointed stiff gray-green leaves with “threads” along edge, <8’ tall stalk with white waxy flowers 
Flowers Present: March-July Gray green thick puckered lance shaped leaves, yellow ray and disk flowers 
Flowers Present: September-May Basal rosette of sharp pointed toothed thick stiff leaves, golden flowers on thick branched stalk to 8’ tall (only flowers once, every 20-40 years) 
Flowers Present: January-April Brown woody “warted” stems, shrub <8’ tall, small thick rounded ribbed toothed evergreen leaves, tiny white clumped flowers |
Last updated: October 6, 2020