SD plants
(c) Zarek Siegel, updated October 3rd, 2019
ornamentals on campus and nearby
- trees
- eucalyptus n friends (within myrtle family Myrtaceae)
gum trees(Eucalyptus)bluegum(Eucalyptus globulus) - most ubiquitous plant on campus by farironbark(Eucalyptus sideroxylon)bloodgum(Corymbia ficifolia)- and any others in smaller numbers
paperbark/tea-tree(Melaleuca) (yes, that tea-tree)
- conifers
- pines (stone/umbrella, Canary island pine, jeffrey, and/or ponderosa)
- araucarias
- Norfolk island pine (not actually a pine)
- New Caledonia pine (also not actually a pine)
- monkey puzzle tree
- redwood
- podocarps of various species
- coral trees
- jacaranda
- liquidambar
- palms (even though these are not real trees)
- Washingtonia - Mexican fan palm (classic SoCal) and native desert
- king, queen, date, Canary island date palm, etc
- fig trees
- olive
- callery pear (whose blooms’ scent is somewhat infamous)
- eucalyptus n friends (within myrtle family Myrtaceae)
- shrubs
- succulents
- agaves
- century plant
- lions tale
- many others
- yuccas (are related to agaves)
- furcraea (which look like and are related to agaves)
- aloes (not agaves, or really related to them at all)
- vera
- candelabra aloe
- other weird ones
- crassulaceae (“stonecrops” aka what most people mean by “succulents”; also not agaves)
- jade plant
- sedum, aeonium, kalanchoe, crassula, sempervivum, cotyledon), etc
- snake plant
- senecio
- agaves
- other tropicals
- cycads (mostly sago palm, though they are not palms!!!)
- bananas (though some of the apparent bananas are really giant white birds of paradise)
- birds of paradise
- bougainvillea
- vines
- ivy
- vinca/periwinkle
- creeping fig
natives (main native ecosystems being coastal sage scrub and chaparral)
- trees
- Torrey pine, which is now your favorite tree
- coast live oak
- sycamore
- arroyo willow
- cottonwood/poplar/aspen (black and Fremont’s)
- cacti and succs
- coastal prickly pear (native, though there is also a similar looking invasive one)
- cholla
- barrel cactus
- fishhook cactus
- yuccas (mojave and chaparral yuccas are native)
- agave (shaw’s is native)
- dudleya/live-forevers
- shrubs n shit
- sagebrush is prolly the most common native plant in SD
- sage (both black and white)
- lemonadeberry is also extremely commom
- toyon/christmas berry (fun fact: Hollywood is named after this holly-reminiscent tree/shrub)
- laurel sumac (what I lovingly call the “taco tree”)
- coyote b(r)ush
- coffeeberry
- bladderpod
- chamise (most common chaparral plant)
- yerba santa
- manzanitas and mission manzanita
- ceanothus/wild lilacs (wart-stem is native here, most planted around here are not native to San Diego per se but they’re definitely characteristic of California)
- poison oak (ive never seen on campus but still good to know)
- scrub oak (“coastal” scrub oak, there is also the more inland “California” scrub oak)
- saltbush!!!
- flowers
- California poppy
- bush sunflower
- sea dahlia
- California buckwheat (right near the ocean there is also seacliff buckwheat)
- datura/devil’s trumpet/thorn-apple (native sacred datura and invasive jimsomweed; both highly hallucinogenic but not in a fun way)
- sea lavender
- monkeyflowers, including red bush monkey flower
- California centaury
- indian paintbrush
- golden yarrow
- lupines
- nuttalls snapdragon
- yuccas, agaves, cacti*
- vines
- others people definitely don’t care about
- bushrue
- goldenbush
- wirelettuce
- tarweed
- mountain mahogany
- phacelia/scorpionweed (multiple, including largeflower and Parry’s)
- nightshades
- spiny redberry
- thistles
badbois (invasives)
- ice plants (“regular”, crystalline, many others ornamentally)
- jade plants*
- pampas grass
- candelabra aloe*
- black mustard
- pride of madeira*
- nasturtiums
- castor bean (where the extremely toxic ricin comes from)
bonus: aminals (just some highlights)
- mammals
- desert cottontail (literally everywhere)
- ground squirrel
- california sea lions
- harbor seals sometimes
- naked people (mainly at black’s...)
- reptiles
- western fence lizard
- side-blotched lizard
- alligator lizard
- rattlesnakes (multiple kinds)
- garter snakes
- birbs
- gulls (including very similar-looking common, western, and california gulls, and the much cooler-looking Heerman’s)
- brown pelican
- great blue heron
- dark-eyed junco
- house finch
- white-crowned sparrow
- mourning dove
- black phoebe
- scrub jay
- various seabirds down by the beach (snow and/or great egrets, night herons, cormorants (including double-crested and Brandt’s), sandpipers, willets, plovers)
- red-tailed hawk (common but cool)
- peregrine falcon
- golden eagle (if youre lucky)
- bald eagle (if you’re reeeeally lucky)
- great-horned owl (more likely heard than seen)
- western bluebirds
- robins
- towhees
- hummingbirds (mostly Anna’s, but also Costa’s)
- bugs
- orb-weavers spiders (including badass looking silver argiope)
- harlequin bugs
- darkling beetles (grown-up mealworms)
- butterflies
- monarchs
- painted lady
- western giant swallowtail
- ginormous sphinx moth
- checkered white (easy to ignore)
- mourning cloak
- oceanstuff
- giant kelp!
- elk kelp
- barnacles
- clams n stuff
- sharks (leopard sharks??) sometimes spottable from cliffs above the beach
- grunions
- tide pool friend
- anemones
- crabs
- various fish of unknown provenance
spots to spot stuff
- torrey pines state park - best place hands-down for natives and casually-breathtaking ocean views and sunsets
- scripps coastal reserve - also great for natives, walkable from campus
- la jolla farms road - rich people’s houses (up to $5/20/40 million) with some great ornamentals
- eucalyptus grove/cross-country trails north of geisel (enter at hopkins and voight) - secluded area on campus great for quick walks to clear the head, mix of eucalypti and native plants
- blacks/scripps/torrey pines beach - great for seabirds and the occasional sea lion and washed-up shark
- UCSD-to-Birch Aquarium trail - kinda secret trail through a Canton with great views, native plants, and not-infrequent snakes
- mt soledad (veteran’s memorial and nearby la jolla natural park) - great views and chaparral
- Balboa Park has a beautiful botanical building, an extensive cactus/succulent garden with some very strange-looking plants, and an enormous (tallest in North America) fig tree (all three free!)
- mission trails regional park - a bit further but great for chaparral, and the mighty San Diego River (mighty meaning small and dry most of the year)!
- la jolla cove - if you like tourists, sea lions, and cormorants
- and tons of other great beaches, views, marshes, mountains, and hiking spots within a short drive
other cool plantstuff
- San Diego has a mediterranean (verging on semi-arid) climate, so many of the ornamental and invasive plants around here are from other parts of the world with this type of climate and biome (western coasts around 30° latitude, especially when there is a desert to the east), i.e. the Mediterranean region (Spain, southern France, Italy, Greece, North Africa, Israel, Lebanon, etc), the Canary islands, central Chile, the cape region of South Africa, southern Australia.
- and many Californian plants are now invasive in those places (e.g. I saw North American agaves and cacti growing all over Israel)
- that said, with an (arguably irresponsible) abundance of imported water and a climate that basically never gets below freezing, lots of other tropical plants are also grown here
- many plants here are sclerophylls, a characteristic common to plants in this kind of climate around the world
- many plants around here are drought-deciduous, losing their leaves in the rainless summer rather than in a freezing winter
- a lot of succulents can grow a new plant from a single leaf so hypothetically one could stock a garden for cheap... (though of course I would never take cuttings from someone else’s garden without their permission)
- agaves bloom only once, sending up a flower-bearing “mast” and then dying ;(
- zarek on iNaturalist
- Torrey pines is the best