Download Plants of the San Dieguito River Valley

About the
San Dieguito River Park
Native Plants & Vegetation Communities
Established in 1989, the San Dieguito River Park
stretches over 55 miles from Volcan Mountain near
Julian to the ocean between Del Mar and Solana
Beach and provides nature enthusiasts with striking
examples of San Diego County’s natural landscape
from the mountains to the ocean. The River Park
aims to permanently protect the sensitive lands and
water resources within a Focused Planning Area
and provide compatible recreational opportunities
that gently interface with nature.
From afar, there doesn’t seem to be much change in the River Park as the seasons pass. But the more you
visit—especially at different times of year—the more you will notice the subtle and gradual changes that
make the River Park beautiful and unique. There are four distinct vegetation communities here, exhibiting a
spectacularly diverse palette of textures, colors and features that make each community’s plants so well suited
to our semi-arid climate. Facing less than 20 inches of rain a year on average and sometimes extremes in
temperature, these species are truly masters of adaptation. And don’t forget to look closely…small is beautiful
in the River Park! Many of the River Park’s prettiest wildflowers are only a few inches high, blooming right
along the trails between the months of February and May.
Plants
of the
San Dieguito
River Valley
plant species that tolerate saline soils and periodic
inundation as the tide or winter rains flood lower
elevations. Salt marsh plants grow low to the
ground and can be found in our coastal wetland
areas, providing foraging and nesting habitat for
the endangered Belding’s Savannah Sparrow.
The San Dieguito River Park is a multi-jurisdictional,
regional greenway governed by a Joint Powers
Authority made up of representatives from San Diego
County, the cities of San Diego, Poway, Escondido,
Solana Beach, Del Mar and the River Park’s Citizens
Advisory Committee. The Joint Powers Authority
partners with the San Dieguito River Valley
Conservancy, the Friends of the San Dieguito River
Valley and other organizations to accomplish its
goals of preservation, interpretation and public
access to the rich and varied natural and cultural
resources the River Valley has to offer.
Visit the River Park website at www.sdrp.org for
detailed information about the trails shown on the
map at the right. Enjoy your visit!
Riparian species are water-loving and can be
found throughout the River Park along its streams,
ponds and in the finger canyons that drain to the
valley bottom. The Arroyo Willow is an important
nesting tree for the endangered Least Bell’s Vireo.
Sandy-bottom, slow-moving streams provide critical
habitat for the Arroyo Toad.
Chaparral is found in the inland areas of the
River Park, extending from approximately 1000´ to
3500´ in elevation. This community is characterized
Invasives Are
Unwelcome
Water conservation is a way of life in Southern
California. You can do your part to protect the
health of our watershed and its habitats by using
drought-tolerant plants for your landscaping
needs. Native plants are an even better choice!
They…
Are naturally pest-resistant
Attract many beneficial insects
Need no fertilizers or soil amendments
Do well in poor soil
Need little to no supplemental water
once established
Often planted for show or erosion control, many
non-native species become a problem when they
escape backyards and invade natural areas.
These foreign invaders degrade water quality,
increase the risk of flooding and eliminate
important habitat that is vital to wildlife by
crowding out native species. You can help protect
native vegetation communities by not planting
the species shown here.
Not a gardener? Not a problem! Less is more
with natives…the less attention they get, the
better. A native plant garden can be designed to
attract birds and butterflies, too. Penstemons,
wild lilacs, sages, fuschia-flowered gooseberry
and California fuschia are just some of the
colorful choices that will bring winged wildlife
to your doorstep.
Canary Island Date Palm
Phoenix canariensis
You can further optimize your water use by
grouping plants according to their water needs
and replacing thirsty lawns. A drip irrigation
system will provide additional water savings for
those areas that need it during the dry months.
Monitor your irrigation system for overspray,
particularly onto hard surfaces, use mulch to
shade bare soil and avoid watering during the
hottest part of the day.
Fountain Grasses
Pennisetum spp.
Because the watershed varies in climate, soil
and elevation, visit your local native plant
nursery to find out what plants will do best in
your area. Better yet, take a walk in the River
Park to see what your recommended selections
look like in a natural setting, especially in winter
and spring when natives flourish. And, encourage
neighbors or your homeowners association to
use low-water landscaping techniques…the
watershed will love you for it!
With special thanks to
the Metropolitan Water
District and its Community
Partnering Program for a
generous grant that made
this brochure possible.
Map
The San Dieguito
Watershed &
Coast-to-Crest Trail
Over half of the Coast-to-Crest Trail is already in
place, giving River Park visitors the chance to see
each of these special plant communities up close
year-round. Most of the Park’s trails are multi-use,
open to hikers, bikers and equestrian users. Please
respect adjacent private property and protect
natural areas by staying on designated trails. And
please remember, the collection of plant or animal
specimens is strictly prohibited.
elevations in the River Park and is interspersed
with golden, grassy meadows in late summer. Five
different species of oak can be seen along the
Five Oaks Trail on Volcan Mountain. California
Incense Cedar, in the cypress family, is a remnant
of the region’s wetter past.
wetlands and extends inland to about 1500´ in
elevation. Waist-high, drought-tolerant plants
dominate this vegetation community, which is an
important complement to wetlands such as the
intertidal marshes found in the San Dieguito Lagoon.
Coastal sage scrub is rapidly disappearing with
development along the coast.
We welcome you to visit the San Dieguito
River Park to explore and enjoy all it has to offer!
Visit www.sdrp.org to learn more about the
River Park and the many opportunities to get
involved through current activities or as a volunteer.
Please visit www.sdrvc.org to find out how you
can become a member and help us secure our
natural legacy.
As you travel along the San Dieguito River’s
path, you will encounter a remarkable variety of
plants across four vegetation communities—these
are color-coded in the map at the right. Besides
incredible biodiversity, the highlight of the San
Dieguito River Park will be its Coast-to-Crest Trail,
winding over 55 miles from the top of Volcan
Mountain to the beach between Del Mar and
Solana Beach.
Oak Woodland reaches to the highest
Coastal Sage Scrub surrounds our coastal
Formed in 1986, the San Dieguito River Valley
Conservancy is dedicated to preserving the natural
resources of the San Dieguito River Valley through
land acquisition, public outreach and education.
The Conservancy also promotes public stewardship
of the precious gifts of clean water, wildlife
habitat and biodiversity the River Valley sustains.
It encourages the involvement of homeowners,
government agencies, other non-profit partners
and our youngest citizens in protecting them.
The San Dieguito Watershed covers 346 square
miles and is the fourth largest in San Diego County.
The San Dieguito River Park’s Focused Planning
Area encompasses 80,000 acres—over one third of
the watershed—and aims to protect the San
Dieguito River from its headwaters at over 5,000
feet on the Pacific Crest to the San Dieguito
Lagoon, one of the last remaining coastal wetlands
in California.
by very drought- and heat-tolerant shrubby species
that can grow to well over head high, resembling an
“elfin forest”. Chaparral and coastal sage scrub
species may intermingle in the middle elevations.
Salt Marsh is characterized by very specialized
Go Native
in the Garden!
Also avoid ice plant varieties such as hottentot
fig (Carpobrotus edulis) and Mesembryanthemum
spp., pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana),
Peruvian pepper tree (Schinus molle), castor
bean (Ricinus communis) and Mexican fan palm
(Washingtonia robusta). Visit www.sdrp.org to
find out how you can assist the River Park in
removing non-native plants and restoring native
habitats as a volunteer.
Lake Henshaw
Cleveland
National Forest
Anza
Borrego
Desert
State
Park
OCEANSIDE
VISTA
Lake Wohlford
Legend
SAN MARCOS
San Dieguito Watershed
San Dieguito River Park
Focused Planning Area
Oak Woodland
Pamo
Valley
Volcan
Mountain
Boden
Canyon
CARLSBAD
9
ESCONDIDO
Sutherland
Reservoir
Chaparral
Wild Animal
Park
Coastal Sage Scrub
Salt Marsh
Lake Hodges
LA COSTA
Bernardo
Mountain
6
San Pasqual
Valley
5
JULIAN
3
Open Trails
1
Piedras Pintadas
ENCINITAS
7
Riverpath Del Mar
2
Highland Valley
8
Volcan Mountain
3
North Shore
Lake Hodges
9
Santa Ysabel Open
Space Preserve
4
Crest Canyon
10
Santa Fe Valley
5
Clevenger Canyon
North & South
11
Lagoon Boardwalk
6
Mule Hill/San Pasqual
12
Del Dios Gorge
San Dieguito River Park
18372 Sycamore Creek Road • Escondido, CA 92025 • (858) 674-2270
8
SANTA YSABEL
12
San Dieguito
Reservoir
RANCHO
BERNARDO
RANCHO
SANTA FE
CARDIFF
BY THE SEA
1
RAMONA
2
Lake Ramona
San Dieguito River Park
Focused Planning Area
10
SOLANA BEACH
11
POWAY
7
4
DEL MAR
San Dieguito
Watershed
Cleveland
National Forest
San Dieguito
Lagoon
CARMEL VALLEY
SALT MARSH
COASTAL SAGE SCRUB
CHAPARRAL
OAK WOODLAND
RIPARIAN
Alkali
Heath
Frankenia
salina
Salt Heliotrope
Heliotropium curassivicum
Low, spreading; light green linear
leaves; small white star-shaped
flowers with purple or yellow centers
Arroyo Willow
Salix lasiolepis
Long, elliptical leaves; yellow-green
spiked catkins turning fuzzy; deciduous
Pickleweed
Saltwort
Salicornia virginica
Batis maritima
Low, growing into mats; succulent
leaves resemble stacked pickles
Low, spreading into mats; mediumsized fleshy leaves and tiny white
flowers along stem
Salt Grass
Salty Susan
Distichlis
spicata
Jaumea
carnosa
Light green
alternating blades
angled upward
along stem
Low, spreading
into mats;
succulent leaves;
reddish buds and
radial yellow
flowers with
numerous petals
California Sycamore
Platamus racemosa
Large palmate leaves; red spiny fruit
turning green then brown
OAK WOODLAND
SALT MARSH
Low, spreading;
tiny succulent
leaves; small pink
to purple radial
flowers with five
petals
Blue Dicks
Canyon Live Oak
Englemann Oak
Dichelostemma capitatum
Quercus chrysolepis
Quercus engelmannii
Small light purple to white flowers in
dense cluster atop slender stalk; few
grasslike leaves
Massive, broad tree with spreading
trunk; ovate leaves with smooth
edges; large acorns with thick cupule
Light, scaly bark; light grey-green
leaves with smooth edges; drought
deciduous
Coast Live Oak
Mexican Manzanita
Quercus agrifolia
Arctostaphylos pungens
Dark green serrated veined leaves;
yellowish catkins and long pointed
acorns; Scrub Oak similar but smaller,
shrub-like
Woody, branching shrub with dark
red bark and light grey-green leaves;
light pink bell-shaped flowers; small
berries
Grape Soda
Lupine
Lupinus
excubitus
Low, spreading
shrub with greygreen palmately
compound leaves;
numerous light
purple flowers on
tall stalks
Cream Cup
Platystemon
californicus
Calocedrus decurrens
Vitis girdiana
Tall tree with soft, reddish bark, thin
leaves; flat, winged seeds; aromatic
Sisyrinchium
bellum
Deerweed
Salvia mellifera
Lotus scoparius
Yellow-green aromatic elliptical veined
leaves with rough surface; tiny white
to light purple flowers; heads evenly
spaced along spikes
Very small yellow flowers turning red
on long spikes; few leaves; slender
stems turn red after bloom
Bush Sunflower
Lemonadeberry
Torrey Pine
Encelia californica
Rhus integrifolia
Pinus torreyana
Medium-sized bush; bright yellow
flower with dark brown disk; ovate
leaves
Large bush with ovate to round
leaves; pink to white flowers in small
clusters; tart-tasting sticky red berries
Only native coastal evergreen; five
needles per bundle and large cones;
grows here and on Santa Rosa Island
Purple flowers
with six pointed
petals and
yellow center
with noticeable
stamen; slender
leaves
Cneoridium
dumosum
Small white
radial flowers
with four petals
and yellow
stamens;
dime-sized
citrus-like fruit
Chaparral Yucca
Hesperoyucca whipplei
Long, narrow, sharp leaves in dense
rosette; single tall stalk with numerous
large white edible flowers
Ramona Lilac
Pearly Everlasting
Toyon
Ceanothus tomentosus
Gnaphalium californicum
Heteromeles arbutifolia
Large shrub; tiny bright blue flowers
in dense heads; serrated veined leaves
on thin branches
Straw-like white flowers with
numerous petals; yellow tip on bud,
tan center when open
Small white flowers making up dense
heads; slightly serrated leaves; bright
red berries
Photo: James Dillane
California (Flat-Top)
Buckwheat
Live Forever
Wild Cucumber
Laurel Sumac
Dudleya pulverulenta
Marah macrocarpus
Malosma laurina
Eriogonum fasciculatum
Chalky light grey leaves in rosette;
fused reddish flowers on several tall
stalks; clings to steep slopes
Sprawling vine with lobed leaves,
small white flowers; large spiny fruit
Shiny, folded leaves on red stems;
Sugarbush (Rhus ovata) related,
farther inland
Medium-sized bush with tiny white
flowers and pink buds in clusters;
small linear leaves, lighter underneath
Spice Bush
Denotes species on San Diego County’s Undesirable Plant List due to flammability. Do not plant within 50 feet of a structure.
Shooting
Star
Dodecatheon
clevelandii
Leaves form
loose rosette;
dramatic white
flower with
yellow and
purple center on
slender stalk
White Sage
Salvia apiana
Large, folded light grey aromatic
leaves; small white flowers; heads
evenly spaced along very tall spikes
Printed on 50% recycled paper with 25% post-consumer content
Black Sage
CHAPARRAL
Curling linear
dark green
leaves on thin
stems; showy
non-radial
flowers from
yellow to red
Spreading shrub
with loose
branches, thorns;
hanging purple
flowers; edible,
spiny fruit
Photos: James Dillane
Blue-Eyed
Grass
Mimulus
aurantiacus
Photo: Margaret L. Fillius
COASTAL SAGE SCRUB
Sticky
Monkeyflower
Ribes roezlii
Low-growing;
hairy leaves, stems
and buds; showy
cream-colored
flowers with
yellow centers,
numerous
stamens
California Incense Cedar
California Wild Grape
Climbing vine with tiny white flowers;
edible purple fruit
Sierra
Gooseberry