The flora of the Klamath-Siskiyou is unique, but it is also a blend of all the surrounding bioregions: high desert, interior valley, Pacific Northwest, California, and the Coast Ranges. In order to learn about the flora of the Klamath-Siskiyou, one must search out information from all these other areas, as there is no comprehensive guide to the region as a whole. Although many people will tell you that books are becoming irrelevant in the internet age—I beg to differ. Books are still an invaluable resource for native plant knowledge, identification, propagation and gardening. I will feature a limited list of some of my favorite resources.

• Real Gardens Grow Natives: Design, Plant & Enjoy a Healthy Northwest Garden

By Eileen M. Stark www.realgardensgrownatives.com “IMAGINE A GARDEN that genuinely belongs in its setting and reflects the natural world, where bumblebees and woodpeckers thrive amid beautiful plants that require less effort to grow. This is a real garden, and Real Gardens Grow Natives shows you how to design such a dynamic, wildlife-friendly space using Northwest native plants. From colorful, sun-loving borders to lush, shady retreats, native plants form a spectacular outdoor setting, while also providing important habitat corridors for birds, butterflies, and other creatures local to your neighborhood.” -Real Gardens Grow Natives This new publication has beautiful photos and is full of valuable and useful information. Although the author is writing from Portland, Oregon, and the book is focused on northwest native plants, many plants featured in the book are also native to the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion, or can be substituted with a Klamath-Siskiyou equivalent.

• Growing California Native Plants

By Marjorie G. Schmidt “A few California native plants have been in cultivation for a hundred years or so, but widespread consciousness of natives is relatively recent. It has arisen partly because of the recent drought, which natives survived more readily than exotics, and partly because of growing awareness that many natives have become rare or endangered, and may be preserved and perpetuated by cultivation for their ornamental qualities. The book is in full accord with the new trend in landscaping in which the environment, climate, and restricted water supplies are taken into account—not only for gardens but also for parks, roadside plantings, and other large-scale landscaping.” –Growing California Native Plants Published in 1980, this book is still relevant and useful today. There have been some new methods developed for propagation of some plants that may supplant the methods in this book, but the information is still invaluable. You may find that some of the botanical names have changed since this book was published. This book looks at California flora as a whole, and many plants are not native to the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion, but the ideas and  concepts are very relevant to the area, and many of the plants are Klamath-Siskiyou natives.

• Propagation of Pacific Northwest Native Plants

            By Robin Rose, Caryn E.C. Chachulski, and Diane L Haase

            “Propagation of Pacific Northwest Native Plants, the first publication of its kind, provides propagation information on nearly one hundred and forty native plants. Designed for use by both nursery professionals and home gardeners, this working manual presents the most current and comprehensive information in this emerging field. Drawn from forestry and agricultural journals, as well as gardening and horticultural handbooks and personal sources, the techniques presented here offer invaluable direction to the any who wish to grow native plants.” –Propagation of Pacific Northwest Native Plants

            This book is well organized and easy to follow. There are a lot of good tricks of the trade to learn from this book to get you well on your way to native plant propagation. Although the book focuses on northwest native plants, the techniques are useful for related plants in the Klamath-Siskiyou. This book was first published in 1998.

 

• Collecting, Processing and Germinating Seeds of Wildland Plants

By James A. Young & Cheryl G. Young

“Collecting seed is the responsible way of introducing splendid plants growing in the wild into your garden, it it is not a siple process. Gathering seed at the optimum time calls for knowledge of the plant’s life cycle; germinating seed successfully requires an understanding of the particular requirements for each species. James and Cheryl Young have drawn on thier years of practical field experience and exhaustive study of the research literature to provide the kind of detailed information needed by the gardener, naturalist or professional propagator.” -Collecting, Processing and Germinating Seeds of Wildland Plants

First published in 1986, this book covers native wildland plants from throughout the United States, including the Klamath-Siskiyou region.

• Seed Propagation of Native California Plants

By Dara E. Emery This book could be seen as the Bible for native California plant propagation as it includes suggested treatments for over 900 different species. It is so useful, that if you are going to try your hand at native plant propagation, you should not be without it. The reference system is easy to use and the techniques presented are a must-have for the serious propagator and weekend gardener alike.

• The Jepson Manual: Vascular Plants of California (Second Edition, Thoroughly Revised and Expanded)

Edited by Bruce G. Baldwin, Douglas H. Goldman, David J. Keil, Robert Patterson, Thomas J. Rosatti, and Dieter H. Wilken

“The Second Edition of the Jepson Manual thoroughly updates this acclaimed work, the single most comprehensive resource on California’s amazingly diverse flora. Integrating the latest science with the results of intensive fieldwork, institutional collaboration, and the efforts of hundreds of contributing authors, this new edition is an essential reference on California’s native and naturalized vascular plants.

This edition includes treatments of many newly described or discovered taxa and recently introduced plants and it reflects major improvements in plant taxonomy. Nearly two-thirds of the 7,600 species, subspecies, and varieties that the volume describes are now illustrated with diagnostic drawings. Geographic distributions, elevation ranges, flowering times, nomenclature, and the status of non-natives and native taxa of special concern have been updated throughout. The second edition also allows for identification of 240 alien taxa that are not fully naturalized and features a new chapter on the geologic, climatic, and vegetation history of California.” -The Jepson Manual

Hand’s down this is the best book for plant identification in the Klamath-Siskiyou region. Botanists may have disputes regarding the accuracy of classification between the first edition and the second edition of the Jepson Manual, but that aside, this book is undoubtedly the real Bible for plant knowledge in our region.

• California Native Plants for the Garden By Carol Boornstein, David Foss, and Bart O’Brien

The three authors of this book bring a combined level of experience that has created this wonderful and highly respected publication. As a comprehensive resource, this book features 500 plants and is illustrated with 450 color photographs. This book appeals to all types of gardeners and habitat restoration practitioners. The book offers great advice for plant care and plant selection.

Klamath-Siskiyou Native Seeds had a booth at the Rogue Valley Seed Exchange and Seed Circus — put on by Families for Food Freedom — yesterday, in Ashland, OR. What a fun event! Seed lovers and plant enthusiasts of all kinds came out to join in the festivities to further develop and engage community seed networks. Native seeds have an integral role to play in sustainable agriculture and land management. It would be great to see more communities having events that encourage community seed networks, such as this one in Ashland. Thanks to everyone who helped make the event a success! For more information about the seed circus visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/614561075341437/

Monarch butterflies are an iconic species. Many people remember a time when they were omnipresent in the summer in the United States, but times have unfortunately changed as the monarch butterfly faces more threats to their survival than ever. The monarch butterfly is known by scientists as Danaus plexippus, which in Greek literally means “sleepy transformation.” Monarchs that live east of the continental divide embark on a spectacular annual migration to winter roost sites in oyamel trees in the mountains of Michoacán, Mexico. The World Wildlife Fund explained the results of a recent survey of monarch populations as follows: “A new survey of migratory monarch butterflies at their wintering habitat shows a 69% increase in the area they occupied this winter in relation to last year’s winter. Yet this is still the second smallest area occupied by these butterflies in Mexican sanctuaries since 1993.

Monarch butterflies, which hibernate in Mexico, migrate between 1,200 to 2,800 miles from Canada and the United States to establish their colonies in temperate forests in the outskirts of Michoacán and the State of Mexico. The forest area occupied by these colonies serves as an indirect indicator of the number of butterflies that come to Mexico.

To survey these colonies, biweekly trips were made to colonies with a historic presence of butterflies, and the location and perimeters occupied by monarchs was determined using a spatial analysis software. The study was carried out by the WWF-Telcel Alliance and Mexico’s National Commission of Protected Natural Areas. In total, nine monarch butterfly colonies were recorded, both inside and outside of the Monarch Butterfly Reserve. “The 2.79 acres occupied by monarchs this season should serve as additional motivation for the leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States to translate the commitment they made in Mexico in February 2014, to concrete and immediate actions”, said Omar Vidal, Director General of WWF in Mexico. “It is crucial that we restore and protect the habitat of this iconic species in all three countries, but above all that we limit the use of herbicide and land conversion in the United States and maintain efforts to avoid deforestation in Mexico,” he added.”

Monarch butterflies that live west of the continental divide, however, including monarchs that migrate through the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion, overwinter in various groves of trees along the central and southern California coast. The International Environmental Law Project released a report in 2012 entitled, The Legal Status of Monarch Butterflies in California, which states that “observations from annual counts of overwintering butterflies in California reveal monarch population declines of approximately 90 percent across most sites with some sites faring significantly worse.”

There are many reasons for this significant decline, including agricultural and urban development, pesticides, logging of overwintering habitat in Mexico, climate change, and loss of milkweed, the main food source for monarch larvae. The following quote from the Center for Biological Diversity’s shows the obstacles the monarch butterfly is currently facing: “The heart of the monarch’s range is the midwestern “Corn Belt,” where most of the world’s monarchs are born on milkweed plants growing in agricultural fields. Because of the ubiquitous spraying of Roundup on corn and soy that have been genetically modified to resist herbicides, the monarch is in bad trouble in the core of its range, where its sole host plant, milkweed, is disappearing. In a one-two punch, climate change is undermining the stable weather conditions and predictable flowering seasons that monarchs need to complete their migration. Climate change also threatens these butterflies’ overwintering habitat in the mountain forests of Mexico. Just as Joshua Tree National Park will soon no longer support Joshua trees, the International Monarch Reserve in Mexico is expected to become climatically unsuitable for monarchs by the end of the century.”

Milkweed has long had a bad rap because of its potential toxicity to livestock. Many farmers consider the plant a weed and either spray it with herbicides or simply plow it under; however, female monarch butterflies lay their eggs exclusively on the leaves of milkweed plants. These host plants are the only food that monarch caterpillars will eat. As the caterpillars ingest milkweed the toxins in the plant are stored in their bodies, making the caterpillars and adults toxic to many predators.

The Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion is home to three native species of milkweed: Showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa), Narrowleaf milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis), and Purple milkweed (Asclepias cordifolia). Showy milkweed can be spotted along roadsides, in drainage ditches, in unplowed fields, and other locations within the valley bottom. This species ranges from the Midwest to the west coast and north into Canada. This is the largest of the milkweed species in the Klamath-Siskiyou and the most common.

Narrowleaf milkweed has a long, narrow leaf and small, pale pink flowers with a distribution that includes most western states down to Baja California. This plant is rhizomatous and spreads readily. It prefers to grow in full sun in dry or moist conditions. It can also be found in abandoned or unplowed fields and along roadside ditches in low elevation habitat. Purple milkweed is a spectacularly beautiful species that is native to parts of California, Nevada and Oregon. Purple milkweed has a more dispersed distribution within the Klamath-Siskiyou than the showy or narrowleaf milkweed and is less well known. Purple milkweed prefers to grow on rocky slopes or outcrops in woodland and coniferous forests. Native Americans used the fiber in milkweed plants for the creation of ropes and nets. Anthropologists found a 40 foot long deer net made from purple milkweed that required an estimated 35,000 plant stalks to construct.

The monarch population continues to decline at an alarming rate. If we don’t act soon to increase, protect and restore monarch habitat we may see the population of this majestic and iconic species dwindle. Consider planting milkweed for monarch butterfly recovery; you will be glad you did. Within a short time the monarchs will find your patch of milkweed and begin using it for their reproduction and migratory needs to insure their survival into the future. You may not personally be able to do much to help other endangered species, like polar bears for instance, but there is a tangible thing you can do to help the endangered monarch butterfly: plant milkweed! You can help an endangered species right in your own backyard.

Responding to a petition from environmental organizations and butterfly advocacy groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) opened a “status review,” a step in the right direction toward future recovery of monarch butterflies. This week marks the end of the public comment period for the status review, in which the USFWS was asking for public input on whether or not monarch butterflies warrant endangered species protection. Let’s hope the USFWS does the right thing and lists the monarch as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. Klamath-Siskiyou Native Seeds currently has both showy milkweed and narrow leaf milkweed seeds for sale. Hopefully next year we will also add purple milkweed to our inventory.

To view a photo essay of the monarch butterfly lifecycle in the Klamath-Siskiyou, see a blog post we wrote for The Siskiyou Crest Blog at:  http://thesiskiyoucrest.blogspot.com/2014/07/monarch-butterflies-in-siskiyou_4.html

For millennia people have been planting and cultivating native plants that grow wild around them for food, medicine, ceremonial or ornamental purposes. In the Klamath-Siskiyou region indigenous people — the Karuk and Takelma, for example — historically cultivated native coyote tobacco (Nicotiana attenuata) and Indian tobacco (Nicotiana quadravalis) for smoking according to tribal customs. This tradition still lives on in some places.

In M. Kat Anderson’s pivotal book, Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California’s Natural Resources, she explains how other plants were either deliberately planted, transplanted, or otherwise encouraged for better growth or a more convenient harvesting location by Indians, namely near village sites. These include, but are not limited to, Hind’s walnut (Juglans californica var. hindsii), hazelnut (Corylus cornuta var. californica), oak species, such as the preferred black oak (Quercus kelloggii) or tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus), and many bulbs, tubers, or corms, such as camas (Camassia quamash and Camassia leichtlinii), yampah (Perideridia spp.), mariposa lilies (Calochortus spp.), lomatium (Lomatium spp.), and brodieaeas (Brodiaea, Dichelotstemma, and Triteleia spp.), to name but a few.

As modern humans living in this same, yet altered landscape, we can continue this relationship to native plants that surround us in the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion. We may not be harvesting camas to eat it anymore — although some still do — but we can plant camas and other native bulbs to add to the ecological diversity of our own backyards, landscaping and homesteads to provide beauty for ourselves, and habitat for the wild critters that still depend on native plants to thrive.

    While the modern nursery industry is hell-bent on developing the next, newer, and supposedly better cultivated strains to keep commercializing and patenting plants for commercial production, the option of sticking to native, localized plant genetics — unaltered by the manipulation of industry — remains for plant enthusiasts who want to encourage a healthy and vibrant native ecosystem. We can all do our part to keep native plant populations alive and well by growing natives. Grow Native, Grow Wild!

Shipping prices are normally 50 cents per pack, but please contact us for exact shipping prices for your order, or for bulk shipping prices: klamathsiskiyou@gmail.com or call us at 541-890-1483. Thanks! Plan ahead for next year and let us know what seed you need us to pick for you this coming summer and fall. Advanced orders are welcome! To download the seed availability chart — or to see it in bigger font — click on the following link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/m7zu6989eakaptn/AADtjGevy2fnfVZZa1cBpBRya?dl=0

 

Klamath-Siskiyou Native Seeds offers a wide selection of native seeds from throughout the Klamath-Siskiyou region. From low-elevation oak woodlands and grasslands; up through mid-slope forests, streams and draws, to the high-elevation meadows and craggy ridgelines of the region. Seeds off all kinds of herbaceous and woody plants are offered: annual wildflowers, perennial wildflowers, woody shrubs, hardwood and conifer trees. All our seed is wildcrafted, hand-picked, cleaned by hand and packed by hand, then stored with care until your order.

Klamath-Siskiyou Native Seeds can be used in the following applications:

• Habitat restoration
• Pollinator gardens
• Rock gardens
• Butterfly gardens
• Native plant gardens
• Ornamental use
• Wetland reclamation
• Permaculture
• Wild tending
• Food forests

Contact us at: klamathsiskiyou@gmail.com to place an order or for further information. Coming soon…Shopping cart capability on an upgraded website will be available by fall, 2015! We will make a concerted effort to get all orders out in a timely manner; however, we do live in a remote location and may take a week to get to town to mail off your order. Thanks for your patience.

Below is a photo gallery highlighting some of our seed offerings, places where we pick seeds and the local places that inspire us.