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Northern California coastal forests
Northern California coastal forests
RESOLVE 359
The Northern California coastal forest belt — the redwood ecoregion. A narrow fog-belt strip from southern Oregon through the Big Sur coast, where coast redwoods reach their full ~370 ft expression. Companion canopy includes Douglas fir, grand fir, tanoak, and Pacific madrone; rich fern-and-moss understory tied to the summer fog drip that keeps the canopy hydrated through the rainless summer.
Northern California coastal forests location on world map
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 40.1°N, 123.8°W.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
USDA zone range (now)
7a-9b
USDA
What seed packets and nursery tags reference. Coldest-day survival semantics.
Plotwright projection (2041–2070)
9b-12a
Plotwright
Where CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +2.9°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.
Summer fog frequency along the coast has declined ~33% over the 20th century (Johnstone & Dawson 2010); fog drip is the load-bearing summer water input for the redwood canopy, so the trend is structurally consequential, not just aesthetic.
Sudden oak death (Phytophthora ramorum) has reshaped the tanoak / California bay understory; warmer wetter winters expand its viable window.
Garden-relevant: redwood-zone natives (western sword fern, redwood sorrel, evergreen huckleberry) need careful siting in summer-dry inland gardens; pick species from the drier-edge end of their range.
At a glance
States / provinces
California, Oregon
Dominant biome
Temperate Conifer Forests
Realm
Nearctic
Approximate area
5,244 sq mi
Elevation range
0 – 3,000 ft
Climate type
Cool-summer Mediterranean (Köppen Csb)
Conservation tier
Nature Imperiled (Dinerstein NNH 4)
About the temperate conifer forests biome
Temperate forests dominated by evergreen conifers, from coastal rainforests to montane pine and fir stands. Adapted to cool, moist or seasonally dry climates, they include some of the tallest and longest-lived trees on the planet.
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) — 1 sub-region
1 · Coast Range
Source: USGS / EPA via Omernik (1987).
What's native here
Catalog plants whose Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center native-distribution range overlaps the 2-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 · 257
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.
Adam's needle
Allegheny blackberry
American basswood
American elderberry
American hazelnut
American holly
American hophornbeam
American persimmon
American plum
American red raspberry
American sweetgum
American sycamore
Anise hyssop
Annabelle hydrangea
Apple
Apricot
Aromatic aster
Arrowwood viburnum
Arugula
Asian persimmon
Asiatic lily
Asparagus
Autumn-joy stonecrop
Bald cypress
Bay laurel
Bearded iris
Big bluestem
Bigleaf hydrangea
Black cherry
Black chokeberry
Black tupelo (black gum)
Black walnut
Black willow
Black-eyed Susan
Blackhaw viburnum
Bleeding heart
Bloodroot
Blue elderberry
Blue false indigo
Blue flag iris
Blue grama
Blue vervain
Blueblossom
Bok choy
Boneset
Borage
Border forsythia
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Bur oak
Butterfly weed
Cabbage
Calendula (pot marigold)
California fuchsia
California poppy
Camellia
Canada goldenrod
Canadian serviceberry
Cantaloupe
Cardinal flower
Carolina allspice (sweetshrub)
Catawba rhododendron
Catmint
Cauliflower
Chives
Christmas fern
Cilantro
Clematis
Coast live oak
Collard greens
Comfrey
Common boxwood
Common camas
Common fig
Common hackberry
Common hops
Common hyacinth
Common manzanita
Common milkweed
Common ninebark
Common olive
Common thyme
Common witch hazel
Common yarrow
Common zinnia
Coral bells
Cosmos
Crape myrtle
Cutleaf coneflower
Daffodil
Dahlia
Daylily
Dense blazing star
Dill
Dutch crocus
Dwarf crested iris
Eastern cottonwood
Eastern prickly pear
Eastern red cedar
Eastern redbud
Eastern white pine
Eggplant
English lavender
European pear
European plum
Fennel
Flowering dogwood
Foamflower
Fox grape
Foxglove beardtongue
Fragrant plantain lily
Fremont cottonwood
French marigold
French tarragon
Garden mum
Garden phlox
Garden rose
Garden sage
Garden salvia
Garden strawberry
Gardenia
Garlic
German chamomile
Ginger
Ginkgo
Gladiolus
Globe artichoke
Golden alexanders
Golden currant
Grapefruit
Green hawthorn
Ground cherry
Groundnut
Hairy alumroot
Hardy hibiscus
Highbush blueberry
Hollyhock
Honey locust
Indian grass
Indian pink
Japanese maple
Japanese spirea
Jujube
Key lime
Kiwifruit
Lacinato kale
Lady fern
Lamb's ear
Leek
Lemon
Little bluestem
Lovage
Marginal wood fern
Mayapple
Maypop (purple passionflower)
Morning glory
Mountain laurel
Nasturtium
New England aster
New Jersey tea
New York ironweed
Northern maidenhair fern
Northern red oak
Northern spicebush
Oakleaf hydrangea
Okra
Oregano
Oregon grape
Oregon white oak
Pacific dogwood
Pansy
Parry's agave
Parsnip
Pawpaw
Peach
Pecan
Peony
Peppermint
Pinxter azalea
Pomegranate
Potato
Prairie dropseed
Pumpkin
Purple coneflower
Pussy willow
Quince
Radish
Red maple
Red mulberry
Rhubarb
River birch
River oats
Rose of Sharon
Rosemary
Russian sage
Salad burnet
Salal
Sassafras
Scarlet bee balm
Sea buckthorn
Shagbark hickory
Shasta daisy
Short-toothed mountain mint
Side-oats grama
Smooth blue aster
Snapdragon
Soapweed yucca
Southern live oak
Southern magnolia
Spearmint
Spinach
Spotted Joe-Pye weed
Stiff goldenrod
Sugar maple
Summer savory
Summersweet (sweet pepperbush)
Sunchoke
Swamp milkweed
Swamp sunflower
Sweet alyssum
Sweet cherry
Sweet corn
Sweet crabapple
Sweet Joe-Pye weed
Sweet marjoram
Sweet orange
Sweet pea
Sweet potato
Sweet William
Sweetbay magnolia
Switchgrass
Tall verbena
Threadleaf coreopsis
Toyon
Tulip
Tulip tree (yellow poplar)
Turmeric
Turnip
Virginia bluebells
Virginia sweetspire
Watermelon
Weeping willow
Western redbud
Western sword fern
White clover
White oak
White wood aster
Wild bergamot
Wild columbine
Wild geranium
Wild lupine
Wild senna
Wild strawberry
Wine grape
Winterberry
Woodland phlox
Yoshino cherry
Currently suited · 17
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.
Newly possible by 2070 · 10
These plants don't fit the current zone range yet, but the mid-century projection brings them into reach. Long-horizon picks for the climate-adaptation wedge.
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 · 17
Plants that caterpillars and other larvae feed on while growing.
Butterfly
Eastern tiger swallowtail
Papilio glaucus
5 native plants here: Quaking aspen, Butterfly weed, Cardinal flower + 2 more
Moth
Polyphemus moth
Antheraea polyphemus
5 native plants here: Chokecherry, Coast live oak, Fremont cottonwood + 2 more
Butterfly
Common buckeye
Junonia coenia
4 native plants here: Firecracker penstemon, Canada goldenrod, New England aster + 1 more
Moth
Io moth
Automeris io
4 native plants here: Allegheny blackberry, American red raspberry, Quaking aspen + 1 more
Butterfly · Specialist support
Monarch butterfly
Danaus plexippus
4 native plants here: Butterfly weed, Canada goldenrod, New England aster + 1 more
Butterfly
Spring azure
Celastrina ladon
4 native plants here: Blue elderberry, Blueblossom, Chokecherry + 1 more
Moth
Hummingbird clearwing moth
Hemaris thysbe
3 native plants here: Chokecherry, Scarlet bee balm, Wild bergamot
Butterfly
Pearl crescent
Phyciodes tharos
3 native plants here: New England aster, Smooth blue aster, Canada goldenrod
Butterfly · Specialist support
Skipper butterflies
Hesperiidae (family-level entry)
3 native plants here: Blue grama, Side-oats grama, Common yarrow
Moth
Hawkmoths
Sphingidae (family-level entry)
2 native plants here: Chokecherry, Wild bergamot
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
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
Silvery checkerspot
Chlosyne nycteis
1 native plant here: Cutleaf coneflower
Collections for this ecoregion
Curated multi-plant collections whose members all fit this ecoregion's zone range — no won't-grow members smuggled in. Overall fit class shown per collection is the weakest link across its members.
Climate-resilient · 2 plants
Bright shade foundation
A part-shade starting point with shrub structure and low foliage contrast.
Annabelle hydrangea
Coral bells
+4
Climate-resilient · 8 plants
Climate-resilient natives for warming zones (eastern NA)
A pollinator-supporting palette of eastern NA natives whose USDA zone range and broad continental distribution score high on the climate-resilience composite. Every plant tolerates 6-7 USDA zones and is native across 15+ US states + multiple Canadian provinces. Holds up under the SSP3-7.0 mid-century projection without the gardener trading wildlife value for resilience.
Switchgrass
Little bluestem
Common milkweed
Black-eyed Susan
Wild bergamot
Sweet Joe-Pye weed
Cutleaf coneflower
New England aster
+2
Climate-resilient · 6 plants
Mediterranean drought-tolerant edible
A low-water edible palette of culinary herbs + a hardy grape for hot dry sunny sites. Mediterranean-origin plants thrive on neglect; their primary failure mode is overwatering, not underwatering.
English lavender
Rosemary
Garden sage
Oregano
Common thyme
Fox grape
+5
Climate-resilient · 9 plants
Native pollinator border (eastern US)
A continuous-bloom native pollinator strip for eastern North America. Covers spring through frost with host + nectar plants spanning monarchs, native bees, hummingbirds, and specialist Lepidoptera. Little bluestem provides the matrix grass + Hesperiidae host.
Butterfly weed
Common milkweed
Purple coneflower
Wild bergamot
Scarlet bee balm
Little bluestem
Sweet Joe-Pye weed
Swamp sunflower
Smooth blue aster
Climate-resilient · 4 plants
Sunny pollinator border
A durable sunny border with summer bloom, seedheads, and upright winter texture.
English lavender
Purple coneflower
Black-eyed Susan
Switchgrass
Newly possible by 2070 · 3 plants
Kitchen patio planters
A compact edible collection for containers, patios, and near-door harvesting.
Genovese basil
Lacinato kale
Coral bells
Plotwright
Climate-aware plant planning — every plant checked against your zone now and in 2050.
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