California coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion

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California coastal sage and chaparral

RESOLVE 422

California coastal sage and chaparral covers the cismontane lowlands and footslopes from Point Conception south through Baja California — the chaparral and coastal-sage-scrub matrix interleaved with oak woodland, riparian gallery forest, and the coastal salt-marsh fringe. The most species-rich Mediterranean-climate flora in North America; sage, ceanothus, manzanita, and the fire-following annual wildflowers carry the visible identity.

Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 33.1°N, 117.2°W.

Climate snapshot for this ecoregion

°C

°F

USDA zone range (now)

9b-10b

USDA

What seed packets and nursery tags reference. Coldest-day survival semantics.

Plotwright projection (2041–2070)

11a-13a

Plotwright

Where CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.

Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +2.8°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.

• Fire-return interval has shortened from the historical 30-80 years toward 5-15 years in heavily urbanized portions; that frequency exceeds what most native chaparral can regenerate from, driving conversion to invasive non-native grassland.

• Coastal-sage-scrub range is contracting at both ends: urbanization at the low elevations, fire-shortened intervals at the upland edge.

• Garden-relevant: this ecoregion is the textbook source for water-wise / fire-aware native palettes (Salvia, Encelia, Eriogonum, Penstemon spectabilis); cultivar selection from local provenance significantly outperforms generic "California native" mixes.

At a glance

States / provinces

California

Dominant biome

Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands & Scrub

Realm

Nearctic

Approximate area

12,700 sq mi

Elevation range

0 – 3,000 ft

Climate type

Mediterranean (Köppen Csa coast, Csb upper)

Conservation tier

Nature Imperiled (Dinerstein NNH 4)

About the mediterranean forests, woodlands & scrub biome

Regions of hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters supporting drought-adapted shrublands — chaparral, maquis, fynbos — and open woodlands. Fire is a natural shaping force, and these climates hold extraordinary plant diversity and endemism.

National refinement sub-regions

Within this RESOLVE ecoregion, national agencies recognise finer-grained sub-regions. Plotwright assigns each sub-region polygon to its containing RESOLVE polygon by centroid.

EPA Level III (US-only) — 2 sub-regions

8 · Southern California Mountains

85 · Southern California/Northern Baja Coast

Source: USGS / EPA via Omernik (1987).

What's native here

Catalog plants whose Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center native-distribution range overlaps the 1-state/province roster for this ecoregion. Distinct from the “suited” section below — these are plants that belong here, not just plants that will grow here.

Grain caveat: native here means “native to at least one state / province this ecoregion crosses,” not necessarily native to this ecoregion's specific habitat. A plant tied to wet meadows that crosses Ontario will surface for any Ontario-spanning ecoregion. Finer per-ecoregion native-status data is a future arc.

Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion

Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer published current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.

Climate-resilient picks · 79

These plants fit this ecoregion today AND remain in range under the mid-century SSP3-7.0 projection. Lead with these for a planting that holds up as the climate shifts.

Currently suited · 103

These plants fit the ecoregion as it is today, but the mid-century projection moves them outside their stated zone range — plan for them to struggle by 2070.

Black tupelo (black gum)

Carolina allspice (sweetshrub)

Fragrant plantain lily

Maypop (purple passionflower)

Summersweet (sweet pepperbush)

Tulip tree (yellow poplar)

Wildlife your native plants here support

What this surface IS — and isn't

Inferred from the relationships catalog plants native to this region have with wildlife. We don't carry direct wildlife-range data per ecoregion — this lists what your native plant palette here can support, not a verified checklist of what occurs here. Cross-check the range note on each wildlife's detail page before treating a row as a presence claim.

Only plants with structured native-distribution data contribute here. Old World cultivars and most vegetables are excluded by design — this view shows “what your native palette supports,” not “what your whole garden does.” It will grow as more plants gain native-range data.

Larval hosts · 16

Plants that caterpillars and other larvae feed on while growing.

Moth

Polyphemus moth

Antheraea polyphemus

5 native plants here: Chokecherry, Coast live oak, Fremont cottonwood + 2 more

Moth

Io moth

Automeris io

4 native plants here: Allegheny blackberry, American red raspberry, Quaking aspen + 1 more

Butterfly

Spring azure

Celastrina ladon

4 native plants here: Blue elderberry, Blueblossom, Chokecherry + 1 more

Butterfly

Eastern tiger swallowtail

Papilio glaucus

3 native plants here: Quaking aspen, Butterfly weed, Cardinal flower

Butterfly · Specialist support

Skipper butterflies

Hesperiidae (family-level entry)

3 native plants here: Blue grama, Side-oats grama, Common yarrow

Butterfly

Mourning cloak

Nymphalis antiopa

2 native plants here: Fremont cottonwood, Quaking aspen

Butterfly

Red-spotted purple

Limenitis arthemis astyanax

2 native plants here: Chokecherry, Quaking aspen

Butterfly

Viceroy

Limenitis archippus

2 native plants here: Fremont cottonwood, Quaking aspen

Moth

Cecropia moth

Hyalophora cecropia

1 native plant here: Chokecherry

Butterfly

Common buckeye

Junonia coenia

1 native plant here: Firecracker penstemon

Moth

Hawkmoths

Sphingidae (family-level entry)

1 native plant here: Chokecherry

Moth

Hummingbird clearwing moth

Hemaris thysbe

1 native plant here: Chokecherry

Moth

Imperial moth

Eacles imperialis

1 native plant here: Vine maple

Moth · Specialist support

Milkweed tussock moth

Euchaetes egle

1 native plant here: Butterfly weed

Butterfly · Specialist support

Monarch butterfly

Danaus plexippus

1 native plant here: Butterfly weed

Butterfly

Silvery checkerspot

Chlosyne nycteis

1 native plant here: Cutleaf coneflower

Pollinators · 4

Wildlife that moves pollen between flowers as it forages.

Bee

Common eastern bumblebee

Bombus impatiens

15 native plants here: American red raspberry, Butterfly weed, Common sunflower + 12 more

Bee

European honeybee

Apis mellifera

9 native plants here: Common sunflower, Allegheny blackberry, Blueblossom + 6 more

Bee

Mason bees

Osmia spp.

2 native plants here: Chokecherry, Golden currant

Bee

Eastern carpenter bee

Xylocopa virginica

1 native plant here: Butterfly weed

Nectar foragers · 6

Wildlife drawing nectar from the plant.

Bee

Stem-nesting native bees

multiple genera (Ceratina, Hylaeus, Osmia, etc.)

6 native plants here: Common camas, Common manzanita, Blueblossom + 3 more

Bird

Baltimore oriole

Icterus galbula

4 native plants here: Cardinal flower, Firecracker penstemon, American elderberry + 1 more

Bird · Specialist support

Ruby-throated hummingbird

Archilochus colubris

4 native plants here: Cardinal flower, California fuchsia, Firecracker penstemon + 1 more

Bee

Sweat bees

Lasioglossum spp.

4 native plants here: California fuchsia, California poppy, Common yarrow + 1 more

Other

Green lacewings

Chrysopidae

1 native plant here: Common yarrow

Fly

Hover flies (flower flies)

Syrphidae

1 native plant here: Common yarrow

Pollen foragers · 3

Wildlife collecting pollen for food or provisioning.

Bee

Mining bees

Andrena spp.

3 native plants here: Chokecherry, Golden currant, Prairie smoke

Bee

Long-horned bees

Melissodes spp.

2 native plants here: Common sunflower, Cutleaf coneflower

Bee

American bumblebee

Bombus pensylvanicus

1 native plant here: Common sunflower

Fruit foragers · 6

Wildlife eating the plant’s fruit.

Bird

Eastern songbirds (multi-species)

multiple species (Passeriformes)

20 native plants here: Allegheny blackberry, American elderberry, American red raspberry + 17 more

Bird

Downy woodpecker

Dryobates pubescens

9 native plants here: American elderberry, Blue elderberry, Golden currant + 6 more

Bird

American robin

Turdus migratorius

6 native plants here: American elderberry, Blue elderberry, Chokecherry + 3 more

Bird

Cedar waxwing

Bombycilla cedrorum

4 native plants here: Allegheny blackberry, Chokecherry, Pacific dogwood + 1 more

Bird

Eastern bluebird

Sialia sialis

4 native plants here: American elderberry, Blue elderberry, Chokecherry + 1 more

Bird

Eastern phoebe

Sayornis phoebe

2 native plants here: American elderberry, Red-osier dogwood

Seed foragers · 3

Wildlife eating the plant’s seed.

Mammal

White-tailed deer

Odocoileus virginianus

7 native plants here: Coast live oak, Oregon white oak, American elderberry + 4 more

Bird · Specialist support

American goldfinch

Spinus tristis

2 native plants here: Common sunflower, Cutleaf coneflower

Mammal

Eastern gray squirrel

Sciurus carolinensis

2 native plants here: Coast live oak, Oregon white oak

Shelter · 4

Wildlife nesting in or sheltered by the plant.

Bird

Black-capped chickadee

Poecile atricapillus

5 native plants here: Chokecherry, Coast live oak, Fremont cottonwood + 2 more

Beetle

Common eastern firefly

Photinus pyralis

4 native plants here: American elderberry, Coast live oak, Oregon white oak + 1 more

Beetle

Lady beetles

Coccinellidae

2 native plants here: American elderberry, Chokecherry

Bee

Leafcutter bees

Megachile spp.

1 native plant here: Western redbud

Collections for this ecoregion

No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.

Related ecoregions

Other mediterranean forests, woodlands & scrub ecoregions to explore:

California interior chaparral and woodlands California montane chaparral and woodlands Santa Lucia Montane Chaparral & Woodlands Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests Albany thickets Anatolian conifer and deciduous mixed forests

Plotwright

Climate-aware plant planning — every plant checked against your zone now and in 2050.

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