Landscaping with
California Natives (Las Pilitas Nursery)
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Terminology (Botanical Terms)
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In Hort 29 we study California native plants suitable for landscape use, by going out on field trips to visit the plants in their native habitat. Those of us who want a letter grade in the class (as opposed to pass/fail) are required to prepare a photographic notebook of the plants we have studied. This suits me nicely, since some of my favorite things to do for fun are hiking, looking at plants, taking photographs of plants, and creating photo essays about the plants and places I've visited.
Now, I like growing plants at home in my gardens, and I have some natives that I've planted here and there. But I am every bit as interested in ornamental native plants that cannot be used in the context of a garden. Therefore, I have included a few plants that are not particularly suited to a garden but which can be appreciated in the wild. I am also interested in how plants are used by humans for food, medicine, and other purposes, as well as the human history related to plants, the significance of the plants to an area's birds and animals, and so on. I've added that sort of information to each plant record. Because our focus in this class is on horticulture for Southern California, my Ethnobotany information focuses primarily on plant use by the various people of our region.
And so, here it is for your enjoyment - my photographic notebook for Hort 29.
There are some terms that I've learned in Hort 29 which I find interesting and useful, so its only fair that I should share this information with my cyber-audience.
The abbreviations used for species are sp. (= species singular), spp. (= species plural), and ssp. (= subspecies).
An indiginous plant occurs only in one location and in no other locations, for as far back as it can be traced. A native plant is one that grows in more than one location, for as far back in time as can be traced for each location.
A naturalized plant is one that grows outside of a garden in a given location, but whose origin can be traced to a different location. An example is Opuntia ficus-indica, which grows all over Southern California and has done so for the past 10,000 years or so. O. ficus-indica has been cultivated for at least 10,000 years, beginning in central Mexico and spreading out in various directions. O. ficus-indica is native to central Mexico, but has naturalized in Southern California, among other places.
An exotic plant is one that cannot grow under naturally occurring conditions. In other words, an exotic plant can only be grown with human intervention, such as in a garden or greenhouse.
Last update 04/05/07
Copyright © Jeanne Lepowsky 2004