Native Riparian Shrubs and Vines of Eastern Marin

Sambucus mexicana     flowers: May-June           back Blue elderberry   Deciduous, foul-smelling leaves 6-12" with 5-9 toothed leaflets. Bark aging dark, furrowed. Cream flowers and berries in flat-topped bunches. Ht: to 20ft.

Rosa californica     flowers: May-August            back California rose  Deciduous;: leaflets to 1 1/2", thin, pale, toothed and slightly velvety. Thorns straight or curved down. Flowers to 1 1/2". Red fruit (hip) to 1/2". Ht. to 7ft.

Rubus ursinus     flowers: March-July            back California blackberry  Semi-deciduous leaves to 4" with 3 coarsely-toothed bristly leaflets. Spines straighter, denser, weaker than other common blackberry. Mounds to 5ft.

Aristolochia californica    flowers: Feb-April            back California pipevine  Deciduous leaves to 5", pale yellow-green and velvety. Flowers, 1 1/2", appearing before leaves. Long velvety stems festoon shrubs or trail on ground.

Lonicera hispidula    flowers: May-July              back California honeysuckle   Semi-deciduous leaves to 2", oblong, often slightly hairy, in opposing pairs. Flowers to 1". Stems trail on ground or twine high into trees, to 1" thick.

Toxicodendron diversilobum    flowers: April-May             back Poison oak   Deciduous leaves to 8" with 3 irregularly-lobed leaflets, turning red in late summer. Twigs long and wiry-looking. Toxic resin. Ht: 1-6ft in open, or climbing into trees.

 

Note: leaf length includes the stalk; 'leaflets' are subdivisions of a leaf, which, if deciduous, falls as a whole.


PRODUCED BY FRIENDS OF CORTE MADERA CREEK WATERSHED   
Photos Copyright Charles Kennard 2000

 

For more information about native plants, visit Canative.com.

Marin County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program: P. O. Box 4186 San Rafael, CA 94913-4186 Phone (415) 499-6528, Fax (415) 499-7221, e-mail: mcstoppp@co.marin.ca.us