About Me
Hi, I'm Emory and I am the created the California Native Project to inspire people in the Bay Area to learn about native plants! As you can probably guess, I am huge native plant enthusiast, particularly about those plants around my hometown of San Francisco! If you ever want to talk about native plants feel free to shoot me an email!
Contact Info:
canativeplant@gmail.com
My Story
I created California Native for my high school graduating project, but it was never just an academic assignment. California Native is the culmination of years of work and a lifelong passion, stretching all the way back to my childhood.
I grew up playing in the woods, wandering through creeks, climbing trees, and gorging myself on wild blackberries. Surrounded by nature, I developed a love for the plants which provided me with delicious snacks, wild playgrounds, and a canvas for imagination. As the years passed, my childhood fascination with plants evolved into a true passion. Instead of frolicking in shallow, sandy streams, I trucked miles through local creeks. I started visiting parks and open spaces around the Bay Area, photographing every plant I could find. I collected samples — leaves, fruit, seeds, and acorns — which I brought home and sketched. Some of those very sketches are shown below.
When COVID hit and the world was forced to come to a halt, my project really took off. Quarantined at home, I finally had the chance to explore the Bay Area’s flora unhindered by scheduling. Every morning, I biked out to the Crystal Springs reservoir, exploring the woods along the way. I took hundreds of plant photos, so many that my friends joked I had more photos of plants than them (which is sadly true). I began formalizing years of unofficial research — plants were identified, photos were labeled, and all plant info was recorded in a streamlined form.
Over the next two years, I continued to work on my budding project, hiking, photographing, and identifying. Then, in the beginning of 2022, an independent research class finally enabled me to actualize my far-flung dreams of creating my own native plant website. And here it is: California Native, the ultimate passion project.
I am so excited to finally share my passion for native plants with others! I hope that this website will be as helpful, informative, and inspiring to you as it was for me to create.
About California Native
There is very little streamlined information on Bay Area native plants and their uses. While it is not too difficult to find basic information on native plants, such as their appearance and scientific info, it is quite difficult to find sources with comprehensive plant profiles. I wanted to create a single localized place where people can find all different types of native plant info including scientific information, historical uses, and ecological role. California Native synthesizing this wide range of information into a single source. I hope that my site will not only help plant enthusiasts learn more, but let any interested person find understandable information about native plants.
Some Guidance on Site Usage:
Each plant is sorted into one of the following categories: shrub, tree, herb/wildflower, or fern. The sorting logic is explained on the 'Basics of Identification' page. Using the drop down Identification menu, or the links on the home page, you can select a category to explore or to identify a specific plant (for example, if you know you are looking for an orange flowered shrub, you can go to the shrub category). The home page of each category displays photographs of every identified plant, labelled with the common and scientific names. Click on any of the plants and you will be taken to a page displaying a physical description, a photo gallery, and a variety of related information. The information on the plant is sorted into seven pertinent sections — Basic Information, Habitat, Ecological Role, Reproduction, Alternative Names, Historical Uses and Additional Information. It is my hope that the information about and photographs of each plant will help you identify the plant in the wild, learn about its unique constitution, and come to appreciate it as I do.
Disclaimer
While this site records much accurate information on native plant uses, not all of the information, particularly that info about historical culinary and medicinal uses, can be verified. Do not attempt to consume any of these plants or use them to treat, cure, or prevent any illnesses without a sufficient, substantiated understanding. Some of the plants listed as toxic may also explain that Native American tribes used them. These plants in particular should be avoided, as the methods Native peoples used toto detoxify them are often unknown or may be difficult without education in proper execution. I want you to become an active native enthusiast, but be sure to keep yourself and others safe!