Native Seasoning Plants - notes

1/7/2013

Out of the Wilds and Into Your Garden
Gourmet Seasonings
and Condiments

C.M. Vadheim and T. Drake
CSUDH & Madrona Marsh Preserve

Madrona Marsh Preserve
Gardening with Western L.A. County Native Plants April 4 & 7, 2009
Project SOUND - 2009
© Project SOUND © Project SOUND

Growing your own food: on the upswing? Not your grandmother’s vegetable garden any more!
 Fun
 Educational
 Good exercise
 Interesting looking
plants
 Saves money
 Tasty, fresh
ingredients
 Chance to grow &
use ‘exotic’
ingredients –
http://bloomtown.typepad.com/bloomtown/bloomtown_my_garden/ including CA native
plants


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1/7/2013

Advantages of including native edible Sand Fringepod – Thysanocarpus curvipes
plants in your garden

 Often easy to grow

 Attract native pollinators as
well as honey bees

 Attract other beneficial
insects (predators)

 Many are water-wise; spend
you ‘water allowance’ on other
vegetables

 Add wonderful ‘exotic’ &
healthy flavors to your diet

http://syrpa.lindberglce.com/flowersBig/B106.htm

Sand Fringepod – Thysanocarpus curvipes In nature, Sand Fringepod is usually found
with other wildflowers, grasses
 Western N. America:
Mexico to British Columbia
 Most of CA, including
western L.A. County  Lindley’s
 Common to an elevation of Silverpuffs
about 5000'  Goldenrods
 Slopes, washes, moist
meadows  Bicolor Lupine
 Valley grasslands, coastal  CA Poppy
sage scrub, chaparral and
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?2240,2683,2685
foothill woodland  Creamcups
 Thysanocarpus: from the  Many others…
Greek words thusanos,
"fringe," and karpos, "fruit,"
hence "fringed fruit"
http://edgehill.net/nature/sierra/pg1pc2 http://tchester.org/srp/plants/pix/fringe_pod.html

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1/7/2013

Sand Fringepod – a delicate spring annual Flowers are tiny
‘mustard’ flowers
 Size:
 1-2 ft tall  Blooms:
 Spring; usually Mar-May in
 1-2 ft wide
W. L.A. Co
 Growth form:  Depends on timing of rains
 Delicate and upright habit
 Flowers:
 May be a single stem or
 Really tiny - < ¼ inch across
branched; more branches
with more water  White tinged with purple
 Generally disappears quickly  Flowers open sequentially
with drought ‘up the stalk’
 Typical shape for Mustard
© 2004, Ben Legler  Foliage: larger leaves mostly at family – parts of 4
base

© Project SOUND http://www.researchlearningcenter.com/bloom/species/Thysanocarpus_curvipes.htm © Project SOUND
http://www.calflora.net/bloomingplants/fringepod.html

…but the real show Cleaning seeds
is in the seeds
 Flat round pods; each  Collect only fully ripe seeds;
contains a single seed usually brown, and often easy
to strip of shake from plant
 Each seed fringed with a
lacey edging – hence  Rub seeds over a rough
‘Fringepod’ or ‘Spectaclepod’ surface (like a screen) or roll
between your hands in a cloth
 Ripe seeds are golden tan;
easy to strip from the stalk bag
into a bowl  Separate seeds from chaff:
 Remember: annual heavier seeds will fall to
wildflowers need a drought bottom – will have to
period to set & mature their experiment
seeds – the drying period is
key to healthy seeds  Then seeds are ready to
store or prepare as a
condiment!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3062/2416699089_94dab9fd1e.jpg?v=0

http://www.calflora.net/bloomingplants/fringepod.html

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1/7/2013

Sand Fringepod: a welcome addition to Can I plant native
the native prairie palette wildflowers in my regular
vegetable garden?
 Mix with other native
annuals and bunchgrasses  But of course!
 Great in pots & planters  In pots & planters
 Treat them like any other  In out-of-the way corners
native annual wildflower:
 Full sun to light shade  Amongst winter/spring
 Any local soil is fine vegetables
 Need plenty of
winter/spring water;  In their own place of honor
supplement if needed (Zone 1 in summer)
 Withhold water after
flowering ceases; can taper
off in mid/late spring
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3062/2416699089_94dab9fd1e.jpg?v=0


* Blue Flax –Linum lewisii var. lewisii Blue Flax –Linum lewisii var. lewisii

 Found in most of CA
north to OR
 Grows on dry open slopes
and ridges
 The genus Linum contains
all the flax plants
(including the European
one used for commercial
fibers)
 Species name lewisii for
Meriwether Lewis of the
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?4965,4980,4983,4985 Lewis and Clark
expeditions


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1/7/2013

Blue Flax is a nice addition to the spring-
summer garden
 Size:
 1½ to 2 ft tall; flowering stalks to
3 ft
 1-2 ft wide
 Growth form:
 Short-lived perennial; sometimes
more like an annual
 Mounded clump with upright,
arching branches
 Foliage:
 Gray-green to blue-green
 Leaves are ‘feathery’, delicate
looking
http://sagehen.ucnrs.org/Photos/misc.%20credits/al_grigarich/blue-violet/slides/B034.1%20%20Mt.%20Lola%20%20%20Blue%20Flax%20%20Linum%20lewisii.html
 Looks ‘woodsy’

 Roots: longish tap-root; use a
 Blue flax only looks delicate – it’s actually a pretty tough taller pot
little perennial (but often grown as an annual)

Treat Blue Flax like most
The flowers are just enchanting…. of our native annuals
 Blooms:  Soils:
 Usually May-Sept. in S. Bay  Texture: light, well-drained soils are best
 Will bloom in second year after starting  pH: any local, including alkali
from seed
 Light:
 Long boom period – about 6 weeks
 Usually found in full sun in nature
 Flowers:  Does fine with part-shade
 Electric blue – difficult to photograph
 Typical flax flower; parts in 5’s  Water:
 Dozens of blooms on drooping branches  Winter: regular winter water
 Flowers open in sunlight, close at night  Summer:
 Pollinated by bees and flies  Good cold and drought tolerance
 Nice butterfly plant  Tolerates anything from no summer water to
regular water; best to withhold water in late
summer for good seed-set
 Seeds:
 Small, in papery capsule
 Poisonous eaten raw; cooked seeds add a  Fertilizer: none; likes poor soils
delicious taste to baked & cooked dishes
Our native flax is just as pretty as the  Birds eat the seeds  Other:
non-native flaxes that most gardeners  Weed control and removal of very competitive
species may improve chance of establishment
plant  Vegetative reproduction: Good self-seeder in most gardens;  To maintain tidy appearance, cut plants back
 Plant sends up more branches each year – easy to remove unwanted plants after bloom
slightly spreading


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1/7/2013

Every garden needs a little Blue Flax Parching seeds
 Use a heavy skillet (cast iron is
 Lovely specimen plant in a pot; great)
will trail over edges
http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/granado/images/basket.html  Heat a little oil in the skillet
 Massed in a mixed bed with over low heat; no oil needed for
other wildflowers & grasses well-seasoned skillets
 In rock gardens  Wipe out all but a thin layer of
the oil
 For erosion control or in a
 Pour in a thin layer of fully dry
greenbelt for fire suppression seeds
 In a habitat garden – for bees,  Keep seeds moving so they
butterflies & seed-eating birds http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/Buffalo/images/pf021841.jpg don’t burn
 Flax provided food, medicines  Remove from skillet when
and fiber for native golden brown – some may pop
Californians
 You can also parch seeds in
the oven

Using parched seeds: limited only by your
imagination
 To add flavor to baked or
cooked items
 Topping for bread
 On bland cooked vegetables
 On casseroles
 As a salad topper
 Etc.

 Ground (alone or with other
http://plants.usda.gov/culturalinfo.html
http://deborahsmall.wordpress.com/page/3/

seeds/spices)
 Pinole
 Mush
 Beverages
 Biscuits & pancakes
 Etc.

http://www.allgauhotel.com/wiki/wiki_turkish_cuisine.html


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1/7/2013

Clustered Tarplant – Hemizonia (Deinandra) fasciculata Clustered Tarplant – Hemizonia (Deinandra) fasciculata

 CA and Baja
 Dry coastal plains below
1000', coastal grasslands,
vernal pools, disturbed
areas, sage scrub,
southern oak woodland
 Often in sandy or clayey
soils
 Taxonomy –still evolving

http://www.timetotrack.com/jay/dudleyl2.htm
Gary A. Monroe @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database

Characteristics of Clustered Tarplant Flowers are a spot of gold in summer/fall
 Size:  Blooms:
 1-3 ft tall  Summer/early fall
 1-3 ft wide  Usually May-Sept. in local
lowland areas
 Growth form:
 Flowers:
 Herbaceous annual  Yellow sunflower heads
 Shrubby habit; many branched  Few ray & disk flowers –
Southern Tarplant (H. parryi
 Foliage: ssp. australis) has more
 Sparse, toothed leaves with  Seem to float above the
bristly hairs twiggy foliage
 Upper leaves narrow, in  Seeds:
bundles
 Little ‘sunflower seeds’
 Aromatic  Edible; parched or boiled – but
© 2006 Steven Thorsted
 Produces a tarry substance very small
© Project SOUND http://www.sdnhm.org/fieldguide/plants/dein-fas.html
 Re-seed nicely onProject SOUND
©
bare ground

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1/7/2013

Encouraging native wildflowers: Native Flavored vinegars are still quite popular…
California Wisdom
 Many native annuals were
valued as food plants (seed;
greens)
 Native annuals usually
require light, spring
moisture – little competition
 Native practices:
 Scattering seed during
http://www.hazmac.biz/080109/080109DeinandraFasciculata.html
harvest (seed-beating)
 Burning in fall after harvest
 Clearing a ‘garden spot’ near
dwellings to raise commonly
eaten plants
 Weeding
© Project SOUND http://i.pbase.com/g6/41/768841/2/83826488.7gqVevyu.jpg © Project SOUND

You can make your own with native CA plants Seasoning marinades & vinegars
 Artemisia californica
 Artemisia dracunculus
 Bladderpod
 Native onions (Allium)
 Peppergrasses
 Salvias
 Even some of the berries/
fruits

Experiment to find the best
combinations. In general, stronger
flavors are best with red wine or rice
vinegars

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1/7/2013

California Boxthorn – Lycium californicum California Boxthorn – Lycium californicum

 A local endemic:
 S. CA coast, Channel
Islands into Baja CA
 Western L.A. Co. and south

 Washes and hillsides,
coastal bluffs, coastal
sage scrub, below 1500‘
 In the nightshade family
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?7625,7636,7642 (with the Nightshades,
tomatoes, etc.)
http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/plants/sdpls/plants/Lycium_californicum.html


CA Boxthorn:
Right at home on interesting or homely?
the bluffs…
 Size:
 3-6 ft tall (occasionally to
10 or 12 ft tall)
 Fine with salty soils,
 4-8 ft wide (occasionally
salt-spray, high winds
http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/plants/sdpls/plants/Lycium_californicum.html

wider)
& blowing sand
 Growth form:
 Habitat is disappearing  Dense, woody shrub
– on CNPS ‘rare’ watch  Drought-deciduous
list
 Ends of branches have
thorns (hence ‘boxthorn’)

 Foliage:
 Small, very succulent leaves
© 2004 Michael Charters
http://www.newportbay.org/plants/califboxthorn.html

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1/7/2013

Flowers are slightly
Using the fruit…think
tomato-like
‘tomato’

 Blooms: Spring - usually  Fruits are firm and red when
Mar-June in S. Bay ripe – usually in summer

 Flowers:  Birds will eat the fruits
 Small; < ½ inch  Fruits are not sweet – more
 Green-white to somewhat tart
purple tinged
 Look like members of the  Fruits can be dried for later
nightshade family – yet use
unique  Can be used to make a sauce
that’s somewhat like a
tomato sauce – see recipes
http://www.calflora.net/bloomingplants/californiaboxthorn.html Gerald and Buff Corsi © California Academy of Sciences

© 2004 Michael Charters © Project SOUND © Project SOUND

CA Boxthorn has a place in some CA
Plant Requirements  Soils:
gardens…..
 Texture: any well-drained,
sand to clay, rocky
 pH: any local
 On seaside slopes
 Light:
 Full sun to light shade  As a barrier plant or
hedge
 Water:
 Winter: needs winter rains  As an unusual – and
 Summer: rare – specimen plant
 Very drought tolerant –
but loses leaves
 ? as an interesting pot
 Best Water Zone 2
CA Boxthorn thrives on seaside plant? – I’ll let you
conditions; excellent for sea
 Fertilizer: none; likes poor know
bluffs
soils
© 2004 Michael Charters


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1/7/2013

Maybe you really wanted a sweet/tart Make nice, sweet/tart sauces & jellies
sauce….
 *Amelanchier alnifolia –
Western Serviceberry
 *Berberis/Mahonia species –
Oregon Grapes
 Opuntia littoralis – Coastal
Pricklypear
 Prunus ilicifolia – Catalina &
Holly-leaf Cherries
 *Prunus virginiana – Western
Chokecherry
 Rosa californica – CA Wild Rose
 Sambuccus cerulea - Blue
(Mexican) Elderberry
 Vitis species – Native Grapes

Oregon Grape – Mahonia (Berberis) aquifolium Oregon Grape – Mahonia (Berberis) aquifolium

 Much of western N.
America: Mexico to
British Columbia
 In CA:
 Mostly N. CA
 Also mountains &
foothills throughout Ca –
locally in San Gabriels
 Slopes, canyons,
coniferous forest, oak
woodland, chaparral
 In the Barberry family
© 2006 Louis-M. Landry
© Project SOUND
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Berberis+aquifolium
 State flower of OR© Project SOUND
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500223

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1/7/2013

Oregon Grape: sized for the garden Oregon Grape: not
 Soils:
demanding at all  Texture: pretty much any
 Size:
 3-8 ft tall  pH: any local
 3-6 ft wide
 Light:
 Growth form:  Best in part-shade; can
 Evergreen shrub; medium-slow take full sun to very shady
growth
 Stiff, upright branches; overall  Water:
irregular or mounded form
 Winter: likes water; can
 Foliage: take some flooding
 Very attractive – leaves ‘holly-like’  Summer: best with some
 Shiny dark green above; may give supplemental water – Zone
red color in fall/winter 2 to 2-3 (even 3)
 Overall – coarse texture
 Fertilizer: likes a good
 Roots: spreads via rhizomes organic mulch; renew yearly

Flowers are a cheerful sight
Berries are tart but delicious
during rainy season
 Blooms: winter/spring  Can be eaten directly for
 Usually Feb-Apr in S. Bay a tasty zing!
 Blooms for 3-4 weeks  Can be fermented with
 Flowers: sugar to wine
 Bell-shaped & buttery  Make nice, tart jellies –
yellow good with meats
 In dense clusters – very  Boil berries in soup to
showy against the darker add flavor
leaves
 Honey-like fragrance  Use to make sauces and
marinades for ham, pork,
 Seeds: chicken
 Relatively large

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1/7/2013

Oregon Grape is a
Cultivar ‘Compactum’ (sometimes ‘Compacta’)
popular home shrub

 foundation plant  Smaller – 3’ by 3’
 mass plantings  More mounded- bushy
 shrub border
 mixes well with other broadleaf
evergreens
 useful in shady spots
 desirable for spring bloom, high
quality summer foliage and blue
fruit in fall
 Yellow natural dye from roots &
bark; also dye from berries
 Medicinal uses: roots for
various infectious conditions
http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/maaqc1.htm

http://www.intermountainnursery.com/demonstration_garden_list.htm

You may know that CA Wild Rose hips make a
nice jelly or syrup… * Western Serviceberry – Amelanchier alnifolia

….but there are other members of the Rose family
that are even better known for their tasty fruits © 2007 Matt Below


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1/7/2013

* Western Serviceberry – Amelanchier alnifolia In the wilds, a shrub
or small tree
 Mainly a plant of the Pacific
Northwest, the midwest and
western Canada – up to AK
 Size and shape very
 In CA, mainly in the greatly depending on:
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/DENDRO/DENDROL
northwest, but…
OGY/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=193

 Also, in the western San  Available water
Gabriel mountains
 Available light
 Found on forested slopes,  Snow pack
open rocky woods, cliff edges,
prairies, or along side streams  Growth season
or lakes; also bogs and wet
sites.
 ‘Serviceberry’ and ‘Juneberry’
refer to the time of bloom
http://www.malag.aes.oregonstate.edu/wildflowers/species.php/id-103

In the local mountains, Western Western Serviceberry: very adaptable
Serviceberry is an understory to pines  Size:
 6-15+ ft tall
 6-10 ft wide
 Often grows in the
shade of the shade of  Growth form:
 Erect shrub/single or multi-
larger trees
trunk small tree
 Branches smooth with gray or
red bark
 Dense, but winter-deciduous
 Medium/slow growing

 Foliage:
http://biology.csusb.edu/PlantGuideFolder/SanGabriels.htm  Medium to dark green
 Leaves oval, toothed
In Western San Gabriels
 Roots: spreads via rhizomes; also
deep taproots
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=amal2


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1/7/2013

Serviceberry is showy in bloom
But most folks like
the berries best
 Blooms:
 Spring: usually Apr-May  Ripen in summer
in Western L.A. Co.
 Dark blue-purple when ripe
 Bloom period up to 1 mo. with white bloom – look
like blueberries
 Flowers:
 White; rose-like  Loved by berry-eating
birds – you’ll probably have
 In dense clusters; very to outwit them!
showy
 Use just like a blueberry:
 Fragrant (sweet)
 Eat fresh or dry
 Seeds:  Used in baked goods
 Like rose; propagate  Use for sauces, syrups,
jellies, beverages, etc.
similar to roses
© 2004, Ben Legler
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=amal2 http://www.malag.aes.oregonstate.edu/wildflowers/species.php/id-103

Serviceberry does well in the home garden Serviceberry: a
garden favorite
 Soils:  Makes a great small tree
 Texture: just about any
for front yard or patio
moderately or well-drained soil
 pH: likes pH between 5.0-7.5  Fine as a large shrub;
dormant Dec.-Feb/Mar
 Light:
 Adaptable: part-sun best, but http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com/White%20Enlarged%20Photo%20Pages/amelanchier.htm  Good choice for hedge,
can take full sun to quite shady hedgerow or screen
 Water:  Espalier along a wall
 Winter: like good soil moisture
 Summer: best in Zone 2 to 2-3  Can even trim to a medium
groundcover
 Fertilizer: likes a good organic http://www.denverwater.org/cons_x

mulch like leaf litter
eriscape/xeriscape/garden2002.htm
l Leave some of previous year’s
© Br. Alfred Brousseau, Saint Mary's College
growth as fruiting wood
© Project SOUND http://www.colostate.edu/Dept/CoopExt/4dmg/Trees/Shrubs/junebrry.htm © Project SOUND

15

Native Seasoning Plants - notes

Native Seasoning Plants - notes

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