Petaluma Library

Deer Grass Muhlenbergia rigens Deergrass, or Muhlenbergia rigens, is a native bunchgrass and a popular plant choice for groundcover applications. It's a low-water grass that's very easy to grow. It does best in sandy soil and partial to full sun, but it is versatile enough to tolerate a [...]

Green Fig Ficus carica The Green Fig tree, Ficus carica, is a deciduous tree with distinctive, lobed leaves and teardrop-shaped fruits. Originating from the Mediterranean region and Western Asia, fig trees have been cultivated for thousands of years for their delicious fruit and ornamental qualities. Fruits generally ripen [...]

Fuyu Persimmon Diospyros Kaki Japanese Fuyu Persimmon, Diospyros Kaki, is a deciduous tree that produces edible fruit that usually ripens by the end of November in Northern California. (It's best to wait to pick them until most of the leaves have fallen off the tree.) It is a [...]

Yerba Buena Clinopodium douglasii Yerba Buena, Clinopodium douglasii, is a creeping evergreen perennial often used as a groundcover or container plant (to keep from overspreading). Yerba Buena grows best in full or part shade. It is a low- to moderate- moisture plant that adapts to different soil types, [...]

Gray Rush Juncus patens Juncus patens is an evergreen that is native to California and normally found in areas that are moist year-round, but it is a tough plant that can also grow in areas that are seasonally dry. It has small golden flower clusters that bloom along [...]

Jerusalem Sage Phlomis fruticosa Phlomis fruticosa, also known as Jerusalem Sage, is native to the Mediterranean region and remains evergreen when grown in California. Its genus name Phlomis is Greek and translated means flame. This may be referring to the fact that in ancient times its leaves were [...]

Sonoma Coast Yarrow Achillea millefolium 'Sonoma Coast This perennial plant has dense green foliage and white flat-topped flowers that cover the plant all summer. Butterflies love the nectar. On the coast, it can handle full sun, but inland it prefers partial shade. It has moderate water requirements, though [...]

Coffeeberry Rhamnus californica This dense and round evergreen native shrub has big berries that resemble coffee. The small, inconspicuous greenish-yellow flowers appear in May to July and produce showy berries that are first green then red and finally black when ripe. The fruit contains laxative properties and has long [...]

Pineapple Guava Feijoa sellowania The feijoa is a slow-growing evergreen shrub that can reach 15 ft. high and 15 ft. wide. In addition to the fruit it provides, the shrub also doubles handsomely as a landscape specimen. Flower petals are edible and sweet like cotton candy, and fruit [...]

Manzanita Arctostaphylos densiflora Manzanita (Arctostaphylos densiflora) is a small shrub growing in low, spreading clumps under one meter in height. Of the heath family, its shiny green leaves are oval to widely lance-shaped and less than three centimeters long. The flowers of this species provide nectar for butterflies [...]