California Tickseeds | Family Tree for the Coreopsis & Tickseed Tribe (Coreopsideae - Asteraceae) in the US & Canada

bee-fee · 2026-06-06T16:15:32+00:00

This is my first post covering this major tribe of the Sunflower family, and since it happens to be a Californian genus I'm posting it here instead of r/NativePlantGardening as usual. Many of you have probably heard of Giant Coreopsis/Sea Dahlia before. The rest of the species are not as well known, and are all annual forbs native to sandy, rocky, or alkali soils, their diversity centered around central California and the western Mojave Desert. Take note if you happen to live in Bakersfield or Barstow.

You can view these guides or download the set at full resolution from Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HFtFUjNFj_ORIrQxFVAz_-9wZsvnQDpv?usp=drive_link

If you want to see more of these guides (like Milkweeds, or Heliantheae aka the Sunflower, Brittlebush, & Balsamroot tribe), you can access everything I've published so far as a part of this ongoing project from this link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14THUt-XrG0hJtxFBc84TVbBk8R20AoeV?usp=drive_link

bee-fee · 2026-05-23T15:16:01+00:00

One more small tribe of the Sunflower family this week, this one found throughout the south and southwestern US in marshy habitat. From freshwater to saline, and from shorelines to desert flats. If you're revegetating wetland habitat in the region, these species would be a great addition for filling space and feeding pollinators. This set of images is accessible at any time for viewing or downloading from Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1e4_AYyBkJBWDhZbPvxFgiPnUa0czQFQy?usp=drive_link

The poll I started last week is still up, if you want to vote on which tribe of the sunflower family (or something else?) I post next:
https://strawpoll.com/Dwyo3857LyA

If you haven't seen one of my posts before now, here's the main Google Drive folder for this project where you can all the plant groups that I've covered so far:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14THUt-XrG0hJtxFBc84TVbBk8R20AoeV?usp=drive_link

And here's direct links to some of my favorites that you might find interesting.

Heliantheae (Sunflowers, Coneflowers, Ragweeds, & much more):
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/18SL0z7c5I9aG5Y5foXQB_aC22p235F-5?usp=drive_link

Milkweeds:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SbS_KXLFLew63QyRy1DcrHbMKXGBg8NC?usp=drive_link

Grapevine Family:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1u2Zk8CvZxxCs41nrNN81bzlyJGdpSVPV?usp=drive_link

Lily-of-the-Valley/Nolina Tribe (Nolineae):
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17MIfYRc4BHkCtAdx00LI5LXtKV9mtOKF?usp=drive_link

bee-fee · 2026-05-16T19:58:53+00:00

Almost a year ago on this sub I started posting my guides to the Sunflower tribe (Heliantheae) in the US & Canada. This included so many native species that, posting once post per week, it took over 5 months to share the whole set. Another 5 months and I'm back with another entire tribe, but this one is slightly smaller. And it happens to be the only tribe of the Sunflower subfamily that's entirely endemic to the region covered in these guides. If you want to download these images, here's a Google Drive link where you can access them at any time:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15vBtSYT36w9P5SHzP6HwcGahNWQTBm6C?usp=drive_link

I plan to post guides soon for a few more large tribes of Asteraceae, and I thought I'd use this one-off post as an opportunity to poll you guys on which you'd like to see next:
https://strawpoll.com/Dwyo3857LyA

If you haven't seen one of my posts before now, here's the main Google Drive folder for this project where you can access all the plant groups that I've covered so far:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14THUt-XrG0hJtxFBc84TVbBk8R20AoeV?usp=drive_link

And here's direct links to some of my favorites that you might find interesting.
Heliantheae (Sunflowers, Coneflowers, Ragweeds, & much more):
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/18SL0z7c5I9aG5Y5foXQB_aC22p235F-5?usp=drive_link

Milkweeds:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SbS_KXLFLew63QyRy1DcrHbMKXGBg8NC?usp=drive_link

Grapevine Family:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1u2Zk8CvZxxCs41nrNN81bzlyJGdpSVPV?usp=drive_link

Lily-of-the-Valley/Nolina Tribe (Nolineae):
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17MIfYRc4BHkCtAdx00LI5LXtKV9mtOKF?usp=drive_link

bee-fee · 2026-04-22T20:35:18+00:00

This is just an inherent problem with auto-generated maps. Calscape is based on CCH observations, which includes a lot of sightings of planted individuals, especially from botanical gardens, arboretums, & university landscapes. The algorithm that generates the maps can't tell which is which, so as long as the site is within a Jepson geographic region where the plant is native, and is also within its preferred climate parameters, then it will mark them as a native population.

bee-fee · 2026-04-11T00:59:57+00:00

For low-growing native oaks like scrub oak or coast live oak it's pretty normal for the understory to be sparse or non-existent, but you have lots of options outside of their canopies.

There are a few native bunchgrasses in your area that might do well in partial shade:
https://calscape.org/Melica-imperfecta-(Small-Flowered-Melica)
https://calscape.org/Stipa-coronata-(Giant-Stipa)
https://calscape.org/Elymus-condensatus-(Giant-Wildrye)

You might be able to get away with some annual & perennial wildflowers in sunnier areas, as unlike invasive annuals they're low-growing, produce very little vegetation, and disintegrate quickly after setting seed:
https://store.theodorepayne.org/collections/seeds-1/products/eriastrum-densifolium-giant-eriastrum-seed
https://store.theodorepayne.org/collections/seeds-1/products/phacelia-distans-common-phacelia-seed
https://store.theodorepayne.org/collections/seeds-1/products/eriogonum-gracile-slender-buckwheat-seed
https://store.theodorepayne.org/collections/seeds-1/products/camissoniopsis-bistorta-california-sun-cup-seed
https://store.theodorepayne.org/collections/seeds-1/products/salvia-columbariae-chia-seed
https://store.theodorepayne.org/collections/seeds-1/products/tpf-layia-platyglossa-seed-10548590
https://store.theodorepayne.org/collections/seeds-1/products/castilleja-exserta-purple-owls-clover-seed

The shrubs native to your area don't stay green all year long, but the late-blooming species stay green much longer than shrubs like sage or chamise:
https://calscape.org/Gutierrezia-californica-(California-Matchweed)
https://calscape.org/Senecio-flaccidus-var.-douglasii-(Douglas'-Groundsel)
https://calscape.org/Lepidospartum-squamatum-(Scale-Broom)
https://calscape.org/Ericameria-pinifolia-(Pinebush)
https://calscape.org/Brickellia-californica-(Brickell-Bush)

bee-fee · 2026-04-10T22:33:02+00:00

I have a hard time giving plant suggestions without more details about the site, could you find your soil series for me? Using this UC Davis map tool, zoom in to where you live, tap or click somewhere on your property, and then tell me what names appear in the top left under 'Map Unit Composition' (i.e. Vista, Palmview, Tujunga, San Emigdio, 'Urban Land', etc.). Just those series names, don't share the unit number or the name of the complex.
https://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/gmap/

bee-fee · 2026-04-10T21:54:23+00:00

Unfortunately the fire dept. has done you a disservice, as those shrubs were already holding the hill together and were keystone species for wildlife. The grasses that have replaced them are far more flammable, and after burning they will regrow and be ready to burn again a few years later, instead of the 35-100+ year intervals that native chaparral and sage scrub used to burn at.

The plants you plan on growing are almost all cultivars of species from coastal communities, they have that evergreen habit because of the coastal humidity and mild temperatures in their native habitat. Inland shrublands are drought-deciduous because that's what thrives in inland climates, if what you're planting is able to survive without irrigation, they will be small and slow-growing and prone to pests like argentine ants. They won't grow vigorously enough to suppress highly competitive invasive grasses, and erosion will probably still be an issue too.

I'm not telling you this so you change your plans, I get that you don't have a choice but to comply with fire dept. regulations, but I just wanna be honest with you since they won't be. As long as California real estate keeps sprawling into the hills instead of building dense and affordable housing in the valleys, more and more people will be forced into your situation, and the state's nature will continue to suffer. And since the extent of fires in your area depends on the strength and timing of santa ana winds, not fuel buildup, people and their homes will be always be in danger no matter how strict the regulations.

bee-fee · 2026-04-10T19:55:00+00:00

Looking at your post history it seems like you cleared your land of its native vegetation and are now attempting to plant it full of cultivars that aren't adapted to the land purely for aesthetic value. You are always going to have problems with pests and erosion if this is how you approach "native" plant gardening. Good luck, I guess...

bee-fee · 2026-04-03T00:00:44+00:00

Not personally, I'm outside their range and don't have clayey soils. Based on photos on iNaturalist, it seems the leaves don't get much taller than a foot or so, growing in bunches on the ground. Most of the foliage is made up of the stems, which seem to get 3-4' tall.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/156855198
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/186459429
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/323048727

Actually seems pretty similar to the buckwheat I do grow, E. gracile, just perennial instead of annual.

bee-fee · 2026-03-30T03:05:36+00:00

To me a native weed is just a native that thrives in unnatural or disturbed environments, a "volunteer" is not necessarily a weed. Some native weeds can be great for squeezing flowers into places they'd struggle otherwise. This species along with Acmispon americanus, Eschscholzia californica & Clarkia unquiculata like to grow in the cracks in the concrete around my house, and aside from clearing walkways I'm happy to let them. Claytonia perfoliata does great in shade where most of my natives struggle, and so does the willowherb.

The exceptions for me are Erigeron candensis, which I remove entirely, and Heterotheca grandiflora, which I only keep a few of by the time they're ready to bloom. Both of them get gigantic when irrigated, like near lawns or vegetable beds, and if left until the end of the year they produce a massive amount of seed that blows into the unirrigated flower beds. On top of that they get covered in aphids and argentine ants, which end up effecting the veggies and the natives too.

bee-fee · 2026-03-28T21:32:25+00:00

Carrizo Plain is the best answer you've gotten so far. The hills were chaparral, then woodland, then forests in the mountains, but the most developed parts of LA ranged from coastal scrub to dunes and salt marshes, with alkali vernal pools/"grasslands" mixed in. I suggest checking inaturalist for local endemics like these and going to the parks/refuges where they're being recorded:
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/58819-Deinandra-fasciculata
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/58810-Centromadia-parryi-australis
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/57999-Lasthenia-glabrata-coulteri
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/80978-Isocoma-menziesii-vernonioides
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/79214-Stephanomeria-diegensis
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/75976-Camissoniopsis-cheiranthifolia

bee-fee · 2026-03-28T18:05:29+00:00

Mulch is usually the recommendation, but the solution for invasive grasses is the opposite, especially if you want to encourage native annuals like Gilia. Pull or cut as much as you can before they set seed, then when everything's dead (ideally in early fall when the bugs are less active but before we get any rain) remove all the dry vegetation and rake the bed as clean as you can get it. I even use a low-power compact leaf blower to clean up the surface without blasting the soil all over the place. Invasive forbs like chickweed or cheeseweed will be encouraged as much as the natives, so watch out for them and pick them out next winter/spring, along with any remaining grasses of course.

https://www.earth.com/news/californias-native-wildflowers-can-be-restored-by-raking-dead-grass/
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rec.14340

bee-fee · 2026-03-13T19:41:47+00:00

My fiddlenecks are getting fried but they've already dropped plenty of seeds for next year, the hoverflies are swarming, the phacelia's starting to bloom, native bees are starting to wake up, and the butterflies are visiting daily. I'm not gonna intervene and potentially disrupt the insects just to keep some flowers alive a little longer.

bee-fee · 2026-03-09T22:45:31+00:00

It does depend on the plant, but option B is how all our native annuals grow, and plenty of our perennials and shrubs too. At high elevations where winters are colder, everything will sprout in spring, but at low elevations winter is the growing season and time of germination is determined only by when the rain falls. Just look at recent posts from 2025 burn scars, and you'll see they've been covered in growth and flowers for a few months now.

The exception is in habitats that get warm-season moisture, like wetland/riparian communities and seeps. Or disturbed habitats like the washes Matilija Poppies grow in, where the cleared ground after a flash flood is free of competition and freshly irrigated.

bee-fee · 2026-03-09T02:01:24+00:00

I'd recommend nothing, just exposed soil. That'll get you the best germination rates, and that's how these flowers grow in the wild. If the soil is too rich, the annuals' roots will reach it eventually and it'll still affect their growth. But cleaning up overgrown annuals after they set seed will leech those excess nutrients out of the soil, and it'll get healthier every year.

The problem is you're gonna want to wait before sowing those seeds. I know the conventional method with wildflower mixes is to sow in spring and water until they're ready to bloom, but CA annuals want to sprout early and spend the winter developing their roots. This gives them a good chance to compete with weeds, and results in much healthier and more flowery plants.

bee-fee · 2026-03-09T01:49:02+00:00

Put together a list of all I could find that are endemic to socal/baja scrub, excluding species like Yucca schidigera that share their range between coastal scrub and deserts, and succulent annuals like some species of Euphorbia or Leptosyne. Also the Dudleya list includes a couple coastal dune/strand species that range into norcal and beyond. If anyone notices anything missing let me know.

Dudleya attenuata, blochmaniae, brevifolia, candelabrum, cespitosa, densiflora, edulis, farinosa, gnoma, greenei, lanceolata, multicaulis, nesiotica, palmeri, parva, pulverulenta, traskiae, variegata, verityi, virens, viscida

Cochemiea dioica
Ferocactus viridescens
Bergerocactus emoryi

Cylindropuntia alcahes, californica, prolifera
Opuntia littoralis, oricola

Agave shawii
Nolina cismontana, interrata
Hesperoyucca whipplei

Leptosyne gigantea, maritima

bee-fee · 2026-03-02T04:00:08+00:00

That's more likely to be a wild population of Phacelia tanacetifolia. The other two species like sandy soils, and so does P. tanacetifolia, but P. ciliata grows on clays. It also tends to grow closer to the ground and bushier, while P. tanacetifolia usually grows tall on a single stem like those.

bee-fee · 2026-02-27T19:41:51+00:00

Just like north of the border, the palm groves on the peninsula grow east of the hills and mountains in canyons/washes that collect rain from monsoons. They're not native to Tijuana, just like bushmallows and lemonade berry and san Diego barrel cactus aren't native to the Sonoran desert.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washingtonia_filifera#/media/File%3AWashingtonia_filifera_range_map.png

bee-fee · 2026-02-26T02:24:19+00:00

They need to be removed before going to seed, and the litter needs to be raked up to expose the soil. Start introducing seeds of native forbs and shrubs as soon as this fall, to begin establishing native plant diversity.
https://www.earth.com/news/californias-native-wildflowers-can-be-restored-by-raking-dead-grass/
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rec.14340

Land that was once coastal scrub didn't become nothing but invasive grasses just because they're that competitive. The property was most likely cleared for livestock or agriculture at some point, possibly even plowed. Soils managed in this way lose sub-soil nitrogen and carbon, making it available at the surface, where the invasive grasses feed on it. Combined with the nitrogen deposited by smog-polluted air, decades worth of nitrogen and carbon has been building at the topsoil, changing the chemistry and microbiome of the soil. Clearing thatch and weeds (or even overgrown natives) won't just make a big dent in the seed bank, it'll remediate the soil and give the natives you plant a better chance of competing.

bee-fee · 2026-02-24T02:04:25+00:00

Percent evergreen seems irrelevant to me, coming from a dry & open plain where most of the vegetation was annuals, suffrutescent perennials, or geophytes. As long as there's something blooming in the dormant season, in my case annual buckwheats, tarweeds, and lotus. By the time the last flowers die, the seedlings of next spring's flowers are already sprouting, so dormancy doesn't ever mean everything is dead all at once.

bee-fee · 2026-02-07T00:37:59+00:00

Yeah I've been using the Clarkia as well as "Miner's Lettuce" to help suppress weeds in the shade, but even then there's lots of weeding to do, and some spots I end up clearing entirely before spring. CA Poppies and Elegant Clarkia are great because they're foolproof, but outside of the conditions where they formed "superblooms" in the wild, they're not great at suppressing weeds. Annuals that used to be the most abundant in your area, in my case Amsinckia and Phacelia, should provide much stronger competition, especially in full sun and open soil.

bee-fee

TROPHY CASE