NativeSeed Group Inventory

Introduced annual with showy yellow, orange and cream flowers, blooming early spring and summer. Recommended for beautiful groundcover, garden borders or areas where quick cover is needed. Drought and heat tolerant; full sun. Attracts pollinator species. 

• Growing Region:  Southwest, California
• Blooms:  Spring, Summer
• Life Form:  Forb

• Application Type:  Agricultural Conservation, Cover Crop, Commercial Beautification
• Height:  0-1 ft

Warm season, perennial bunchgrass with an extensive fibrous root system. Performs best on deep, moist, fine textured soils but will persist on coarser soils on dry sites. Tolerant of a wide range of soil pH. Capable of thriving on both saline and non-saline sites, sometimes becoming abundant. Versatile, tolerant of both drought and water inundation once established. Recommended for seeding disturbed saline soils and as a soil binder. Palatable to livestock and wildlife and provides valuable cover and food for birds, jackrabbits and other small mammals. Tolerant of moderate grazing.  

• Growing Region:  Intermountain West, Southwest
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  1-2 ft

Cool season, perennial sod-former with a vigorous and shallow fibrous root system. Adapted to moist or periodically moist, saline soils. Able to withstand intermittent flooding and shallow water tables. Moderately palatable. Excellent for establishing cover on saline soils. Also used as a turfgrass.

• Growing Region:  Southwest
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Commercial Beautification, Forage & Pasture, Land Reclamation, Turf
• Height:  1-2 ft

Acmispon amiericanus is a native annual herb in the Fabaceae (Legume) family that grows in Northern, Southern and Central California in most habitats except desert. It tends to grow in streambanks and wet places, at elevations from sea level to 7,900 feet, often in disturbed areas. As with other members of this genus, it is not often used in gardens but is useful for restoration projects.

• Growing Region:  California, Southwest
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Forb

• Application Type:  Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  0-1 ft

Moderate to deeply taprooted evergreen shrub 2-10 ft. tall with small yellowish flowers, blooming April to August. Adapted to a wide variety of well-drained soils, slightly acidic to basic, often deep, coarse profiles on dry slopes and hillsides within mixed shrub and woodland forest communities; up to 11,000 ft. elevation. Less drought tolerant than close relative Desert bitterbrush (P. tridentata var. glandulosa). Establishes by seed and layering, when branches take root after soil contact; some ecotypes may sprout. Mostly killed by wildfire. Occasionally able to produce nitrogen-fixing root nodules. Used for restoration, erosion control and mine reclamation. Moderately palatable to livestock and highly palatable to pronghorn, deer, elk and bighorn sheep. Caterpillar host plant for Behr's hairstreak butterfly and numerous moths, including Columbia silkmoth, Western sheepmoth, Walnut spanworm moth and Nuttall's sheepmoth. 

• Growing Region:  Intermountain West, Southwest
• Blooms:  Spring
• Life Form:  Shrub

• Application Type:  Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  4+ ft

Multi-branched deciduous to semi-evergreen shrub from 2-8 ft. tall with white showy flowers developing into feathery clusters of pinkish plumes, blooming April to December. Adapted to dry, sandy or gravelly soils of canyon bottoms, washes, ephemeral waterways and alluvial plains; 3,000 to 9,000 ft. elevation. Occurs in all the southwestern deserts and into the grassland and woodland habitats of surrounding regions. Extensively used as a xeriscape ornamental in landscaping. Often rhizomatous and colonial. Vigorous root-sprouter after wildfire. Protects dry washes during flash flooding. Browsed somewhat my mule deer, more so by pronghorn. Provides nesting cover for small mammals and numerous ground dwelling birds. Attracts native bees and butterflies and is a caterpillar host of Neumoegen's buckmoth.  

• Growing Region:  Southwest, Intermountain West
• Blooms:  Spring, Summer
• Life Form:  Shrub

• Application Type:  Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  4+ ft

Formerly Trichachne californica. Warm season, very drought tolerant, perennial bunchgrass adapted to deep well-drained soils. Rarely found in pure stands. Will repeatedly go to seed throughout the growing season when moisture remains available. Attractive white cotton-like seed heads make it useful as an ornamental. Extremely palatable to livestock and useful for improving rangelands.

• Growing Region:  Southwest, Intermountain West
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Agricultural Conservation, Commercial Beautification, Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  1-2 ft

Cool season, drought tolerant perennial bunchgrass with a coarse, dense fibrous root system. Most commonly found on thin, heavy soils but also occurs on deeper, coarser sites, often in association with Ponderosa pine communities. Provides good palatability to livestock and wildlife. Useful for controlling soil erosion and improving rangelands.

• Growing Region:  Southwest, Intermountain West
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Agricultural Conservation, Erosion Control, Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  1-2 ft

Sprawling summer native annual with golden orange-yellow flowers, blooming July to October after desert monsoons. Quick germination when moisture is available. Found along roadsides, sandy washes, mesas, disturbed areas and low spots, often in mass communities; up to 6,500 ft. elevation. Use in desert restoration and native gardens. Prolific seed producer; seeds eaten by birds. Visited by numerous bees, wasps, flies and butterflies. 

• Growing Region:  Pacific Northwest, Southwest, Intermountain West, Midwest
• Blooms:  Summer, Fall
• Life Form:  Forb

• Application Type:  Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  1-3 ft

Climbing nitrogen-fixing annual legume with white to pink flowers, closely related to the garden pea. Prefers fertile, light-textured, well-drained soils; sensitive to salinity and high acidity. Water efficient and cold tolerant. Rapid and abundant forage producer with low bloat potential. Use for hay, silage, green manure or in wildlife food plots. May be grazed but easily damaged by trampling. Often seeded with cereal crops, especially Oats (Avena sativa), for climbing structure and to improve hay nutrition. May be fall-seeded, but also may be seeded in spring as a summer annual. Early and long blooming period attracts beneficial insects, honeybees and native pollinators. Some varieties are semi-leafless, with vining tendrils that replace leaflets and aid in upright growth and improved harvest. 

• Growing Region:  Southwest, Intermountain West
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Forb

• Application Type:  Agricultural Conservation, Cover Crop
• Height:  4+ ft

Columnar-shaped succulent cactus 2-10 ft. tall and 18-33 in. in diameter with showy orange, yellow or red flowers in a ring upon its top, blooming July to September. Occurs on deep sandy desert soils, often of igneous and limestone origin, on gravelly slopes, wash margins and alluvial fans in desert grassland, desert shrub habitats, oak woodlands and grasslands; up to 6,000 ft. elevation. Frost sensitive; fire resistant. Appearance varies through its broad geographical and elevational range. Extensively used as a xeriscape ornamental in landscaping. Cattle and other animals consume the flesh when the spines are removed by disturbances such as wildfire. Javelina, mule deer, numerous birds and small mammals browse the large yellow sour fruits. Caterpillar host of moth Cactobrosis fernaldialis. 

• Growing Region:  Southwest
• Blooms:  Summer
• Life Form: 

• Application Type:  Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  4+ ft

Drought tolerant, long-lived perennial native legume with showy pale-yellow to creamy white flowers, blooming April to July. Widely distributed and abundant on western arid and semiarid sagebrush steppe and open woodland ecosystems, from northern Mexico to southern Canada, often occurring in large colonies; up to 9,000 ft. elevation. Prefers coarse to semi-coarse soils, commonly basalt derived. Some ability to develop new shoots from lateral roots. Good colonizer after fire and competes well with cheatgrass. Use for revegetation, reclamation and habitat restoration on sites with increased fire frequency. Nontoxic to livestock and wildlife. Provides food for sage-grouse during the brood-rearing stage. Excellent pollen and nectar source for pollinators, including numerous species of native bees. 

• Growing Region:  Southwest, Intermountain West
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Legume

• Application Type:  Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  1-3 ft

Mat-forming evergreen shrub growing up to 8 in. tall with clusters of pinkish-white bell shaped flowers, blooming March to October. Adapted to rocky, well-drained, low nitrogen soils; intolerant of moist, poorly drained soils; up to 12,000 ft. elevation. May form dense stands on coastal bluffs and prairies, forests, sand dunes, barren rocky outcrops, dry alpine meadows and coniferous forests; circumboreal. Foliage is lightly browsed by deer. Berries are eaten by birds, bears and small mammals, especially as emergency food during winter and early spring. Used extensively in landscaping as a low-growing, ornamental groundcover. Host plant of the Seaside hoary elfin butterfly. 

• Growing Region:  Southwest, Intermountain West
• Blooms:  Spring, Summer
• Life Form:  Shrub

• Application Type:  Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  0-1 ft

Formerly Agropyron inerme. Cool season, long-lived, drought tolerant, perennial bunchgrass adapted to a wide variety of sites but intolerant of poor drainage, high water tables and spring flooding. An awnless-type Bluebunch wheatgrass (see below: Bluebunch wheatgrass, P. spicata ssp. spicata) which starts growth in early spring, has a relatively short life cycle but renews growth in early fall. Good palatability to livestock and wildlife.

• Growing Region:  Southwest
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  1-2 ft

Native to the western United States, Plains Beebalm can be found from Texas to South Dakota and West to Oregon and California. Commonly referred to as Pony Beebalm, this annual member of the Lamiaceae family prefers to grow in full sunlight and medium, well drained soils. Reaching a height from 2-4 feet, it is topped with white/pink flowers when in bloom from May-July. This early bloom period makes it an attractive stop for many butterflies and bees. Shallow fall seeding after last frost date will allow for natural stratification and can provide good germination in the spring.

• Growing Region:  Southwest, Intermountain West
• Blooms:  Spring, Summer
• Life Form:  Forb

• Application Type:  Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  4+ ft