Photo: Diane Edwardson, February 24, 2010. Most likely native sage is starting to bloom where the canyon opens into the meadow on the Red Car Property. (Click on photo to enlarge.)How do you know this is most likely a native plant? It grows in the same place every year; a couple of small patches up on the sunny slope of the canyon. (It's grown there for at least 20 years.) It has a fuzzy coating to help trap moisture and channel it down to the roots. The leaves and stems are pale, narrow and silvery colored to reflect the harsh sunshine. The flowers are small.
CalFlora lists 55 species of sage in Los Angeles County; most are native.
*UPDATE, March 15, 2010: A reader identifies this plant as from the Gnaphalium family. A search of Calflora turns up 22 different types of "Cudweed" plants in LA County; all but 3 are native. Thanks for your help.
Click here for our neighborhood native plant catalog.
