Welcome to my website showing photographs of some of the flowering plants at Mission Trails Regional Park.
There are over 600 species of plants found growing in Mission Trails Regional Park. This website includes over 350 species of the most common and uncommon plants you might encounter when visiting this large 8000 plus acre park. Some plants have very obvious showy flowers, while others are very small and difficult to see without using a magnifying hand lens. I have not included many of the numerous grasses as well as other less common families on this website.
This website has been developed for the beginning plant lover that is just starting to identify plants as well as the more experienced plant enthusiast that is familiar with plant families and scientific names, and wants to know about the specific plants growing in Mission Trails Regional Park. Identifying plants can be the first step in learning more about them including their ethnobotanical uses, their relationship to plant communities and ecosystems, and further academic studies in botany.
The plant communities found in Mission Trails include Coastal sage scrub, Chaparral, Grassland, Oak woodland, Riparian woodland, Freshwater marsh, and Vernal pool environments. Most of the plants on this site are found in the first two plant communities since they make up the majority of acreage in the park.
Flowering plants are in the plant Division or Phylum of Angiosperms that are part of the overall plant taxonomy. This Division is further divided into a variety of clades or groups that include, Monocots, Magnolids, and Eudicots. Plant families on this website are listed alphabetically. Under families, plants are then listed alphabetically by genera and finally species. The photos of the plants are labeled with a common name and in some cases the family name is added. Below the photographs is an alphabetical list of the scientific name or botanical name consisting of the plant genus and species as well as a common name. Scientific names in parentheses are older synonyms for the plant. Common names vary by person and local and are not as specific as scientific names, hence the reason for the latter use. Convention has scientific names either italicized (as done here) or underlined.
My references for the identification of the plants with their scientific names, common names and plant families are taken from the Jepson eflora Taxon page of the Jepson Herbarium, the San Diego Natural History Museum website on the Check List of the Vascular Plants of San Diego County, Mission Trails Regional Park Vascular Plant List, Calphoto website, and The Jepson Manual. Please see website links for more details about the plants found in the park and plants in general.
This website can be used to explore plants by their family and by flower color. Under flower colors there are links to the plant's family. There is more information about the plant when searched under plant families.
Flowers can form a spectrum of colors, for example a flower may appear to be pink, purple or shades in between. The plant species will be shown under both colors.
Plants listed in red text are similar species located in the park but are lacking photographs.
Definitions
Abbreviations
Paraphrased from: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1042144.pdf
This website has been developed for the beginning plant lover that is just starting to identify plants as well as the more experienced plant enthusiast that is familiar with plant families and scientific names, and wants to know about the specific plants growing in Mission Trails Regional Park. Identifying plants can be the first step in learning more about them including their ethnobotanical uses, their relationship to plant communities and ecosystems, and further academic studies in botany.
The plant communities found in Mission Trails include Coastal sage scrub, Chaparral, Grassland, Oak woodland, Riparian woodland, Freshwater marsh, and Vernal pool environments. Most of the plants on this site are found in the first two plant communities since they make up the majority of acreage in the park.
Flowering plants are in the plant Division or Phylum of Angiosperms that are part of the overall plant taxonomy. This Division is further divided into a variety of clades or groups that include, Monocots, Magnolids, and Eudicots. Plant families on this website are listed alphabetically. Under families, plants are then listed alphabetically by genera and finally species. The photos of the plants are labeled with a common name and in some cases the family name is added. Below the photographs is an alphabetical list of the scientific name or botanical name consisting of the plant genus and species as well as a common name. Scientific names in parentheses are older synonyms for the plant. Common names vary by person and local and are not as specific as scientific names, hence the reason for the latter use. Convention has scientific names either italicized (as done here) or underlined.
My references for the identification of the plants with their scientific names, common names and plant families are taken from the Jepson eflora Taxon page of the Jepson Herbarium, the San Diego Natural History Museum website on the Check List of the Vascular Plants of San Diego County, Mission Trails Regional Park Vascular Plant List, Calphoto website, and The Jepson Manual. Please see website links for more details about the plants found in the park and plants in general.
This website can be used to explore plants by their family and by flower color. Under flower colors there are links to the plant's family. There is more information about the plant when searched under plant families.
Flowers can form a spectrum of colors, for example a flower may appear to be pink, purple or shades in between. The plant species will be shown under both colors.
Plants listed in red text are similar species located in the park but are lacking photographs.
Definitions
- Native - A plant that occurs naturally in its ecosystem or habitat without human introduction either accidentally or by volitional.
- Naturalized - A plant that is not native to San Diego County, but has become naturalized, meaning that it's persisting or spreading in natural areas. Most, but not all of these plants prefer to grow on disturbed soils where they out compete native species. Many most likely coming from another Mediterranean climate.
- Waif - A plant introduced in a place outside its native range but is not persistently naturalized.
Abbreviations
- sp. = species (used if plant has not identified to its species)
- spp. = many species of the same genus
- subsp. = subspecies
- var. = variety
Paraphrased from: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1042144.pdf
This site has been designed and developed by Bill Brothers. I will continue to add more plant photos and try to improve on some of my poorer quality photos in the coming months and years. I take full responsibilities for any errors or deletions. All photographs are copyrighted and are the property of Bill Brothers. Use of the images must be approved by emailing me. Please email any corrections, comments, or permissions by using the email envelope icon below. Please email me if you want your personal photo added to the website. Your name will be cited with the photo.