Plants

Depending on when you visit the Elfin Forest the plants will be in different phases of their life cycle. The southern coast of California experiences a different weather pattern than the temperate climate found in most of the United States. Rain falls mostly between December and March. It is sunniest in the Spring and Fall and often foggy here at the coast in Summer. Many plants go dormant or lose their leaves in the Summer. They will start to show new growth when the rain starts in Winter. Flowers will be most prominent from February through April. Increasingly California is experiencing drought. Although average annual rainfall is 17 inches (430 mm), some years it may only be half of that which impacts plant growth.

The 90-acre Elfin Forest Natural Area contains six plant communities. The first three: Coastal Salt Marsh, Coastal Brackish Marsh, and Riparian Woodland Fringe are in the estuary or along its immediate edge and are not accessible to visitors.

The remaining three are Pygmy Oak Woodland, Coastal Sage Scrub, and Chaparral and are readily visible along the boardwalk. These communities do not have distinct boundaries and many plants overlap between the communities. Below are significant species from each of these plant communities. For a comprehensive list of the plants in the Elfin Forest click HERE.

Pygmy Oak Woodland Shrubs (below the oak canopy)

The oaks of the Elfin Forest shield vegetation growing below from direct sun and wind. Accumulated fallen oak leaves (“oak duff” acts to shield the soil from drying sun and decreases evaporation. Furthermore, when the wind is fog laden the oak foliage collects moisture that drips to the soil below. Thus, a special moist and cool environment supports the woodland shrubs below. (The Pygmy Oaks themselves have their own webpage.)

**Fuchsia Flowered Gooseberry**
*Ribes speciosum*

Shrubs 1-3 m (4-10 feet) tall, 2 m (7 feet) wide with many sharp thorns
Round green leaves 2.5 cm (1 inch) wide, semi-deciduous in summer
Bloom very early, from Dec to May, long red flower tubes hanging down
Long beaks of Anna’s Hummingbirds draw nectar and pollenate flowers
Because this plant blooms early, it assists Anna’s Hummingbirds with their early breeding season
For more information, click HERE

**California Hedge Nettle**
*Stachys bullata*

Dylan Wheeler

Perennial herb growing from a rhizome
Aromatic foliage (Mint plant family)
Pink flowers from about 13-20 mm (.5 to .8 of an inch) wide
Bloom mainly March to June, possibly through summer

**Bracken Fern**
*Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens*

Thrives in shade along boardwalk
Lush green fronds May through July, golden in dry months
No flowers–produces spores in bands on underside
Lives on all habitable continents
Chumash used long tough roots for basket weaving
For more information, click HERE

**California Blackberry**
*Rubus ursinus*

Evergreen shrub or vine with prickly [spiny] stems
Three-lobed green leaves dull green above, woolly below
White flowers 2-5 cm (nearly 2 inches) wide, February to May
Edible fruits red to black at maturity, used by Chumash
For more information click here

Blooms December – June. Purple flowers with pollen-laden yellow center, diameter to 5 cm (2 inches)
Pea-size blaack berries are poisonous
Height up to 1 m (39 inches)
For more information, click HERE
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**Poison Oak**
*Toxicodendron diversilobum*

Deciduous woody shrub or vine, all parts can cause an itchy rash
3 leaflets in compound leaves, green in spring to red in autumn, bare stems in winter
Nectar for bees in spring from tiny yellow-green flowers
Birds eat the small greenish white berries late summer-fall
Distinguished from blackberry by smooth stems and shiny leaves
For more information, click HERE

Coastal Sage Scrub

Coastal sage scrub is a common plant community in the Morro Bay area, but nearly weed-free areas such as the Elfin Forest are rare. Thirty years of volunteer labor by “Weed Warriors” has made the difference. Non-native grasses and other invasive plants still demand the attention of the Friends of El Moro Elfin Forest. Most plants here are semi-woody and many branched. Soil moisture commonly available in winter and spring. These plants are drought tolerant. Many lose their leaves during dry seasons (drought deciduous).

One of the most common coastal shrubs, it lends its name to the coastal sage scrub community.
Odiferous. A true sage. It produces substances that inhibit nearby growth by other plants.
Name may come from its darker leaves than other sage species and the dark seed heads.
Tiny seeds collected and ground into flour by native Americans.
For more information, click HERE

**California Sagebrush**
*Artemisia californica*

Another common coastal shrub. Odiferous but not a true sage. Found alongside boardwalk on warm slopes.
Feathery gray-green leaves appear needle-like, but are actually elongated in shape with rolled under edges.
Rapid growth follows rain. Drops leaves in dry season (summer and fall).
Flowers inconspicuous to us nevertheless attract insects. Woodrats eat the leaves. Native Americans used leaves medicinally.
For more information, click HERE

Common alongside the sand trails and boardwalk in open and formerly disturbed areas.
Small bright yellow to orange flowers attract bumblebees. During drought conditions deerweed drops its leaves, leaving wiry green stems.
A legume, it has nitrogen-fixing nodules on its roots.
A “pioneer” species, it fills in areas that have been disturbed, then it dies off after other shrubs fill in.
For more information, click HERE

Adele Lopez

Clusters of tiny golden flowers August to November produce dandelion-like seeds
Short needle-like leaves spiral around stems
Older stems are dark and woody, scraggly in appearance
Dominant shrub of stabilized dunes. Grows in driest exposed areas.
Sunflower family
For more information, click HERE

**Buck Brush or California Lilac**
*Ceanothus cuneatus*

Selena Carroll

Common along sand trails and boardwalk.
Stiff shrub to 2 m (7 feet) height
White, pinkish or yellowish-green flower clusters abundant in winter and spring, attracting bees and other insect nectar seekers.
Small leathery leaves to 20 mm (3/4 inch) diameter alternately placed on stems.
Seed germination accelerated after fire
For more information, click HERE

**Dune Buckwheat**
*Eriogonum parvifolium*

Izaak Travis

Leaves 5-30 mm (1/4-1 inches) diameter
Thick leaves often folded under
grows to 1 m (39 inches) height and sprawls as wide or wider
Host and nectar plant for many kinds of insects. Deer don’t eat it
Flowers white to pinkish, darken to brown
For more information, click HERE

Chaparral

The Maritime Chaparral is found on sandy soils of old stabilized sand dunes, particularly on north-facing slopes. Dense patches prevent shrubby growth below. Seed germination is enhanced by fire.

**Morro Manzanita**
*Arctostaphylos morroensis*

Small white flowers in Feb-Mar. Plentiful red fruit resemble tiny apples, hence the name manzanita, Spanish for little apple.

Leaves shiny green on top, gray with hair-like fuzz on underside

Plentiful in middle of north facing hillside along boardwalk loop

Federally listed threatened species due to extremely small range. Found only on ancient dunes from Chorro Creek to just south of Hazard Canyon, natural reproduction by seed (no post-fire crown-sprouting as in many other manzanitas).

For more information, click HERE

Common in highest and driest soil near the 17th Street trail and boardwalk intersection.

Extremely drought tolerant. Waterproofing oils make them highly flammable.

1-1.5 m (3-4ft) high, as wide or wider, branches grow in intertwined thicket

tiny leaves in clusters make plant look greenish, small whitish flowers proliferate in early summer, then fall off leaving plant looking rusty brown in fall

For more information, click HERE

**Holly-leaf Cherry**
*Prunus ilicifolia*

Shrub or small tree

Located only along the ridge above the slope to the salt marsh

Evergreen leaves with holly-like edges. Many fall off in dry summer/fall

Small white flowers in March-April

25mm (1 inch) diameter reddish cherries with large seed and thin flesh. Fruit too large for birds, likely consumed by mammals

For more information, click HERE

Photograph of a Coffeeberry plant showing leaves and 5 berries. — **California Coffeeberry**
*Frangula californica*

Adele Lopez

Shrub or small tree, grows to 5 m (16 ft) under favorable conditions along ridge above salt marsh

Bright green to gray-green leaves vary in size from 20 cm(3/4 inch) to 100 cm (4 in) long

Tiny white-greenish flowers, most seen late spring early summer. Fruit darkens gradually to look like coffee beans.

Host plant for Swallowtail butterfly larva (link to Swallowtail here)

**Coastal Dudleya**
*Dudleya lanceolata*

Selena Carroll

Dudleyas are nicknamed “Live forever” owing to their survival rather dry areas (including hot deserts). Seen in scattered locations of Elfin Forest

Basal rosette of gray-green leaves, spike crowned with yellow flowers emerges between leaves

Special turbo-charged photosynthesis process minimizes water loss.

Valued as decorative, plants have been lost to poachers. Please report it if one you have been enjoying disappears!

For more information, click HERE

Izaak Travis

Named “Coyote” to dismiss it as common, weedy, worthless. Plentiful on roadsides, found scattered along the lower part of boardwalk loop

To 1 m (3 ft) high, same width

Dark green wedge-shaped leaves.

Male plants produce small white flowers. Later, female plants produce white fruit

For more information, click HERE