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Home | Plant Communities | Chaparral

Chaparral is a Spanish word meaning "where the scrub oak grow." This plant community is found in semi-arid areas such as the dry slopes and ridges of the Coastal Ranges from Shasta County south, and below the Yellow Pine Forest on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This habitat is found in the Southern California mountains, as well. Soil here is rocky and gravelly or fairly heavy. Average rainfall is 14" - 25" each year. The annual growing season is 8 to 12 months. Brush fires race through this habitat frequently.

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Chamise

Adenostoma fasciculatum; Rose Family

• one of the most abundant shrubs in Southern California
• adapted to fires, which are natural and beneficial here (unless they are too frequent)
• can "crown sprout," or re-sprout quickly from the root crown
• can reproduce prolifically from seed
• leaves are needle-like, clustered on shoots along the main branches
• small white flowers appear at the ends of the branches in spring
• the Koso people used this tough plant for arrow points
• Luiseño people used it for the arrow foreshaft

Flannel Bush

Fremontodendrom mexicanum; Cacao Family

• evergreen; many-branched, thicket-like shrub or small tree with a short trunk and open crown
• dull, dark green leaves are rounded with 3 blunt lobes and are densely covered with rust-colored hairs on the underside
• masses of large, showy flowers bloom in the spring and early summer
• entire plant is edible, but watch out for the spines!
• bark brewed to relieve sore throats

Prickly Pear

Opuntia occidentalis; Cactus Family

• grows either erect or spreading
• woody, with large, fleshy, spiny pads; fruits red and barrel-shaped
• flowers are normally yellow, bloom mostly May - June
• Native Americans ate the fruits dried, raw, or made into a syrup
• seeds were ground into flour
• used as a poultice for wounds and inflammations
• needles used as tools

Toyon

Heteromeles arbutifolia; Rose Family

• Hollywood was named for this native California "holly" (not a true holly, but a member of the rose family)
• large, erect, brushy evergreen shrub or small tree
• dark green, oblong leaves are sharply toothed and measure up to 4" long and 1.5" wide
• clusters of small white flowers bloom in early summer, followed by 1/4" diameter bright red berries which remain on the branches most of the winter, providing an important food source for birds
• Native Americans and settlers used the roots and stems of this plant as soap
• tea was made from its bark and leaves to help cure stomachaches
• berries make a blue dye
• host plant for the Variable Checkerspot butterfly

Chaparral Yucca / Our Lord's Candle

Yucca whipplei; Yucca Family

• shrub-like with a single or few short stems surrounded by stiff, narrow leaves at the expanded base
• yellow-green or blue-green leaves
• cream-colored flowers sometimes with a purplish tinge, primarily seen April to May
• Native Americans ate the fruits and stems
• roots were used for soap
• used to make rope and sandals