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Chia

Chia has been heavily cultivated and commercialized to produce chia seed for the food market and, of course, the ever popular Chia Pet™. It is touted for its health and energy boosting characteristics. It is not an easy wildflower to find naturally growing outside of boom wildflower years, and would be easily overlooked by casual hikers who are unaware of the significant lore surrounding it. It is an important food source for wildlife and humans.

The Chia are small, with flat, frilly leaves that spread out from the base. As a member of the mint family, the Chia stalk has four flat sides. In a crosscutting, the stalk would appear as a square. Blooms are round bracts with flower clusters that are distributed up the stalk.

It is found in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico in the United States. In Mexico, it’s found in Sonora and Baja California.

The Wildflower Field

The wildflower field at Sunnylands is overseeded annually with native wildflowers and bunch grasses. This provides visitors with a view of the larger cyclical bloom cycles that we have in the desert. Starting in February, a variety of native species and bunch grasses begin emerging. Each year the vegetation varies slightly, depending on which seed dominates the space. The field can range in color from purples to oranges, whites, and pinks, with a variety of combinations. We cannot guarantee that all wildflowers will be present each year.

California Poppy

The California Poppy is the official state flower of California. The state’s renowned author, John Steinbeck, described it as evoking the color of cream that would rise from molten gold, if that were possible. It is indeed beautiful to behold in mass, but there’s no challenge in that. A hiker fortunate enough to come across a single poppy on a California sand dune must think, “Eureka! I have found one.”

In the wildflower field, the flower adds a pop of creamy orange that plays well off the bright yellows of the Brittle Bush and the Desert Marigold. According to Matt Ritter, author of California Plant – A Guide to Our Iconic Flora, the first specimen collected for western recordings was during a Russian exploration and is housed in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

When the California Poppy blooms, it sends up a sepal, which is a green, cone-shaped protective shell. The flower pushes through the sepal when it blooms. A fruit that dries follows the bloom. When it’s ready to disperse seeds, it does so forcibly and can make a popping sound. Hence the name, Poppy.

Wildlflower Field

Our Lord’s Candle

Our Lord’s Candle can grow in two varieties, as a single or multi-clumped growth pattern. This is another species that can appear to be a rather large bunch grass or multi-mounded bunch grass, but is indeed a Yucca down to its sharp and rigid leaves. The long, blue-green to gray-green leaves are teethed and grow outward to create a globe shape to the plant.

This Yucca’s flowering stem can grow up to 13 feet, displaying bright white flowers that may have a purple tint. The stigma on Our Lord’s Candle is green, brush-like, and ends in a compact head, which is unique to this species. Like the agaves, this species of Yucca is monocarpic, meaning it will die after it blooms. In the mounding (or clumped) variety, each individual plant will bloom before completing its lifecycle. This can take many years, and some will live up to fifty years.

Our Lord’s Candle naturally occurs in chaparral and coastal scrub habitats in southern California and Baja California. Other varieties occur in the Mojave Desert and at the Grand Canyon in Arizona. It is heavily cultivated in the southwestern United States and in Europe.

Beaked Yucca

Beaked Yucca is most obvious in the wildflower field. Entering from the path that starts in the middle of the parking lot and taking the route to the left, it lies immediately ahead on the left side of the path. When it was originally planted at ground level, it appeared like rigid bunch grass. In recent seasons, it began to be more obvious as a trunking species that will rise up between 6 and 15 feet. As each new row of leaves dies, it falls downward to create a skirt effect on the trunk. It can grow single or multi-headed branches. Its leaves are mostly rigid and may or may not have a slight curve.

Rostrata, like other yuccas, is truly in its glory when it blooms. Its large candelabras of pure white blooms signals that it is another species attractive to nocturnal pollinators, which is common in the desert. The main pollinator of yuccas is the Yucca Moth. They have a special symbiotic relationship with this genus and, although other pollinators may visit, the Yucca Moth is the real partner. The plant’s fruit is shaped with a point like a beak, which is why it is nicknamed Beaked Yucca.

The distribution of Beaked Yucca is in the states of Chihuahua and Coahuila in northern Mexico, and western Texas in the United States.

Texas Bear Grass

Texas Bear Grass creates waves of grassy leaves throughout the lowest part of the retention basin in the lower gardens at the east side of the Center. This stemless plant resembles a large bunch grass, but it grows straight at its center, only arching to the ground at the outer edges.

It can tolerate full sun and full shade so long as the soil is kept dry. It is cold, hardy, and drought tolerant with some supplemental watering.

It blooms in the heat of the summer, sending up an inflorescence (flowered stem) with white creamy flowers. Mauve seedpods will follow. Propagation is by seed.

Its distribution is quite extensive and includes central Texas, southern New Mexico and Arizona, and continues south into Mexico in the states of Sonora and Chihuahua.

Mexican Grass Tree

The genus Dasylirion refers to a group of native plants that resemble very large bunch grasses, having long, narrow leaves that grow from a central base. As Dasylirion ages, it can form a trunk that raises a grassy head. This is the source of the name “Grass Tree” for this species, which can grow a trunk 16 feet high. It is seen mostly at ground level. Mexican Grass Tree, unlike most Dasylirion, has smooth margins (edges) on its leaves. The species name quadrangulatum refers to the leaves’ shape, which appear rounded, but actually have four distinct sides. In a cross-sectional view, they have a diamond shape. An easy place to spot this plant at Sunnylands is outside the Center, east of the shuttle gate.

The Mexican Grass Tree is a distinct species and can be confused with Nolinas, another genus with a grass-like appearance. Mexican Grass Tree does well in full sun and partial shade, with a preference for some shade in the hottest climates. It may need additional summer irrigation. In temperate climates it requires very good drainage. Its ability to spread 9 feet, means that care needs to be taken when selecting its placement.

Mexican Grass Tree will send up a single inflorescence (flowered stem), with tiny, densely arranged cream-colored flowers. After pollination, it will set seed as its form of propagation, and will not set pups or clones like the desert succulents aloe and agave.

Distribution is the states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico and into the southwestern United States.

Moroccan Mound

Another popular plant at Sunnylands is the Moroccan Mound, which grows in a dome shape created from chunky square stems. In the right conditions, it can spread up to 30 feet, but in the gardens, it’s spread is a maximum of 3 feet. It does well in poor soil and prefers full sun to partial shade. The plant can be grown for visual interest as its sculptural shape does catch attention.

Euphorbias have a unique flower from other genera. In late winter or early spring, they grow what is called a cyathium (plural – cyathia), which is a small flower cluster. On Moroccan Mound, the flowers are bright yellow and grow along the plant margins near the tops of the stems.

Moroccan Mound is native to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

Lady Slipper/Slipper Flower

One of the most asked about plants in the gardens is the Lady Slipper, which is best described as a cluster of giant green beans growing directly out of the ground. This plant grows upright for about a foot or two and then drapes over or twists around into a truly sculptural display. This perennial succulent can be grown in the ground or in pots as a focal point, but it also does well as a backdrop to smaller plants. It is extremely versatile with one exception. It cannot be grown in locations that freeze, unless it can be brought inside during the cold months.

In summer, bracts (modified leaves) appear at some tips of the plant. They display a red triangular bloom, which looks like a tiny red slipper. The fun of this plant is that it can be propagated by seed and by cuttings, so collecting one stem can result in additional plants.

Lady Slipper is a native of the Mexican states of Baja California and Sonora.

Euphorbia vs. Cactus

Euphorbias may be referred to as an “Old World” plant compared to those that are Cactaceae (cactus), which are referred to as a “New World” plant. “Old World” refers to plants with origins in Africa, Asia, and Europe. The “New World” refers to North, Central, and South America. While possibly meaningful for the purpose of biogeographic classifications, it is problematic because it places a colonial lens on the origin of species.

The origin of these terms according to the World Atlas:

‘‘Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine explorer, coined the term New World (Mundus Novus). He quoted the term in a letter he had written to his friend Lorienzo di Pier in the spring of 1503. In his letter, he asserted that the lands discovered by European navigators were not the edges of Asia as Christopher Columbus stated. Instead, they belonged to an entirely distinct continent, the “New World.” Another explorer, the Italian born Peter Martyr, supported the context of the New World. He used the term ‘Orbe Novo’ translated as ‘New Globe’ upon discovering the Americas in 1511.”

Euphorbias are indeed found in the Americas. Some Euphorbias at Sunnylands are native species to the Americas, so those looking for native species in the gardens can include this species on that list.

A better way to distinguish Euphorbia, which can sometimes look similar to a cactus, is by the white, milky latex that is in Euphorbia. Cactus will have a clear sap. This latex does have a toxicity level and may cause skin rashes if handled.

Formerly called Pedilanthus macrocarpus.

Gopher Plant

The steel, blue-green Gopher Plant is unique in the gardens. It grows upward on stalks with leaves equally distributed down its stem. When planted among smooth agaves and aloes, it adds interest and contrast to their form. It only requires occasional water and can handle poor and/or rocky soil.

When Gopher Plant blooms, it forms a cluster of flowers in chartreuse bracts (modified leaves). The flower shape is reminiscent of a view through a kaleidoscope in its round, symmetrical pattern. This bee favorite is stunning when in full bloom, and when the blooms dry out, they continue to provide visual interest. Stems can be cut all the way down to the plant base after it blooms, where new stems will regrow.

This Euphorbia is native to southern Asia and southwestern Europe.

Candelilla

The name Candelilla is attributed to more than one source. It is associated with the shape in which it grows, resembling a cluster of little tapered candles, but also because it is used as a source of wax. The species name of antisyphilitica references medicinal qualities associated with this plant.

Candelilla prefers limestone slopes and hillsides on which it can capture water flowing down in the rainy seasons. Its identification as a medicinal plant, along with its sourcing for wax, has resulted in over-harvesting in its native regions.

After rains in the spring and summer, it forms a stunning display of pink flowers up and down the stems. The seedpod that follows resembles a tiny lantern hanging off the stem. It is really a stunning bloom, but the very small flowers are about the size of a pencil eraser and are best viewed close up to see their incredible detail.

In the United States, it is found in Texas and southern New Mexico, and in Mexico it is found in Chihuahua, Coahuila, Hidalgo, and Querétaro.

Euphorbia vs. Cactus

Euphorbias may be referred to as an “Old World” plant and compared to those that are Cactaceae (cactus) which are referred to as a “New World” plant. “Old World” refers to plants with origins in Africa, Asia, and Europe. The “New World” refers to North, Central, and South America. While possibly meaningful for the purpose of biogeographic classifications, it is problematic because it places a colonial lens on the origin of species.

The origin of these terms according to the World Atlas:

A better way to distinguish Euphorbia, which can sometimes look similar to a cactus, is by the white, milky latex that is in Euphorpia. Cactus will have a clear sap. This latex does have a toxicity level and may cause skin rashes if handled.

African Bulbine

African Bulbine was part of the original plant list for the Center & Gardens. After struggling for a few seasons, it was removed. In 2018, the Sunnylands landscape team decided to give it another try, and so far it has shown success. This beautiful Euphorbia creates a delicate display of bright green leaves that form a rosette, but its long, narrow leaves look more like a mounding grass with tall flowering stalks. It has been doing well in the shaded parts of the gardens while showing some sensitivity in full sun.

The bloom can an be orange and yellow star shape with six distinct petals that reach back, away from from a fuzzy, yellow stamen. Seedpods are small, and when mature, the seeds are dispersed to the mercy of desert winds to carry them to a suitable germination spot.

Its origin is the African continent and its range extends from South Africa north to Mozambique.

Fish Hook

Fish Hook is found in specimen beds between the café and solar field, and around the wildflower field. This barrel, from the same genus as the Blue Barrel, is easy to distinguish by the variety of its spines’ shapes. The name comes from large, flat spines that appear on this cactus and curve to form a hook. These central spines have been used by the local Seri people as fish hooks, and all parts of the cactus have been used for food or tools.

Flowers range from yellow to orange, followed by yellow ovoid fruit.

Distribution includes central and southern Arizona, New Mexico, southwestern Texas; and Chihuahua, Sonora, and Sinaloa in northern Mexico.