Plant restoration in the Elkhorn Slough has become an important priority for both the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Elkhorn Slough Foundation. Restoration not only improves habitats for native wildlife and increases biodiversity, but can also improve water quality. If this work intrigues you, we hope you will get involved. There are many volunteer activities planned throughout the year. Check the links below for more information.

Current Restoration Activities

In the course of writing a Restoration and Vegetation Management Plan for the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, we have compiled published information on planting native species and controlling invasive plants. In order to share what we have learned in the process, we have posted three of our restoration reference guides here in .pdf form.

The Native Species Planting Guide outlines seed collection and planting suggestions for over 100 native plants found in the Elkhorn Slough watershed. See the list below for species covered in this text. Native_plants.pdf • 271K

The Seed Dormancy and Treatments explains some of the terms used in The Native Species Planting Guide. treatments.pdf • 45K

The Weed Control by Species Guide contains information on the biology and control of over 50 non-native plant species in the region. See the list below for species included in the guide. weeds.pdf • 167K

Invasive Plants of California's Wildlands is an online guide.

Invasive Aquatic and Wetland Plants of the San Francisco Bay-Delta Region is an online guide.

Almost all of the information in these guides has been gathered from other sources, which are cited throughout the texts. Full citations can be found at the end of the The Native Species Planting Guide and in the Vegetation Management/Restoration Plan Bibliography. Biblio.pdf • 65K

You will need Adobe Reader to view these files.

If you have any comments or suggestions email Andrea Woolfolk: andrea@elkhornslough.org

Native Species Planting Guide: Species Covered

Acaena pinnatifida var. californica	Holodiscus discolor
Achillea millefolium	Hordeum brachyantherum
Adenostoma fasciculatum	Horkelia californica, H. cuneata
Aesculus californica	Iris douglasiana, I. longipetala
Agrostis pallens	Juncus lesueurii, J. phaeocephalus
Alnus rhombifolia	Juncus patens
Anaphalis margaritacea	Lathyrus jepsonii var. californicus, L. vestitus
Arctostaphylos pajaroensis, A. tomentosa	Layia platyglossa
Artemisia douglasiana	Leymus condensatus
Artemisia spp.	Leymus mollis
Asclepias eriocarpa	Leymus triticoides
Aster chilenses	Limonium californicum
Atriplex patula	Lomatium caruifolium
Baccharis pilularis	Lonicera hispidula var. vacillans, L. involucrata
Baccharis viminea	Lotus scoparius, L. wrangelianus
Brodiaea elegans	Lupinus spp.
Bromus carinatus	Melica imperfecta
Calandrinia ciliata	Mimulus aurantiacus, M. guttatus
Calochortus luteus	Monardella villosa
Camissonia cheiranthifolia	Muilla maritima
Camissonia ovata	Myrica californica
Castilleja densiflora, C. foliolosa	Nassella cernua
Ceanothus spp.	Nassella lepida
Chenopodium californicum, C. rubrum	Nassella pulchra
Chlorogalum pomeridianum	Oxalis albicans ssp. pilosa
Cirsium occidentale var. californicum	Perideridia gairdneri
Cirsium occidentale var. occidentale	Pholistoma auritum
Clarkia rubicunda	Pinus radiata
Claytonia perfoliata	Polypodium californicum
Conyza canadensis	Potentilla anserina ssp. pacifica
Cornus spp.	Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens
Corylus cornuta var. californica	Quercus agrifolia
Cressa truxillensis	Ranunculus californicus
Cryptantha leiocarpa	Rhamnus californica
Danthonia californica	Ribes divaricatum, R. sanguineum
Dendromecon rigida	Rosa californica
Deschampsia caespitosa	Rubus ursinus
Deschampsia elongata	Salix lasiolepis and Salix spp.
Dicentra formosa	Salvia mellifera
Dichelostemma capitatum	Sambucus mexicana
Distichlis spicata	Satureja douglasii
Elymus glaucus	Scirpus actus, S. americanus, S. robustus
Epilobium canum	Scrophularia californica
Eriogonum nudum	Sidalcea malvaeflora
Eriogonum spp.	Sisyrinchium bellum
Eriophyllum confertiflorum	Solanum douglasii, S. umbelliferum
Eschscholzia californica	Stachys bullata
Fragaria sp.	Suaeda moquinii
Frankenia salina	Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus, S. mollis
Garrya elliptica	Toxicodendron diversilobum
Gnaphalium californicum, G. spp.	Trillium chloropetalum, T. ovatum
Grindelia stricta	Triteleia ixiodes, T. laxa
Helianthemum scoparium	Vaccinium ovatum
Hemizonia congesta, H. corymbosa	Vulpia microstachys
Heteromeles arbutifolia	Wyethia angustifolia, W. helenioides
	Zigadenus fremontii

Weed Control by Species Guide: Species Covered

Acacia spp. or acacia	Genista monspessulana or French broom
Anthemis cotula or Mayweed chamomile	Hedera helix or English ivy
Atriplex semibaccata or Australian saltbush	Hordeum murinum ssp leporinum or wild barley
Avena barbata and A. fatua or slender wild oat and wild oat	Hypochaeris radicata or spotted cat's ear
Brassica nigra or black mustard	Lactuca serriola or prickly lettuce
Bromus diandrus or ripgut	Lolium multiflorum or Italian ryegrass
Capsella bursa-pastoris or shepherd's purse	Malva parviflora, M. neglecta or mallow
Cardaria draba or hoary cress	Marrubium vulgare or horehound
Carduus pycnocephalus or Italian thistle	Myosotis latifolia or Forget-me-not
Carpobrotus chilensis, C. edulis or sea fig and hottentot fig	Oxalis corniculata, O. pes-caprae or oxalis
Centaurea melitensis or tocalote	Phalaris aquatica or Harding grass
Centaurea solstitialis or yellow starthistle	Picris echioides or bristly ox-tongue
Chenopodium album or lamb's quarters	Plantago major and P. lanceolata or plantains
Cirsium vulgare or bull thistle	Poa annua or annual bluegrass
Conium maculatum or poison hemlock.	Rubus discolor or Himalayan blackberry
Convolvulus arvensis or field bindweed or wild morning-glory	Rumex acetosella or sheep sorrel
Cortaderia jubata and C. selloana or Jubata grass and pampas grass	Rumex crispus or curly dock
Cynodon dactylon or Bermuda grass	Salsola tragus or Russian thistle
Delairia odorata or cape ivy (Senecio mikanoides or German ivy, ivy groundsel)	Senecio vulgaris or common groundsel
Ehrharta calycina or veldt grass	Silybum marianum or milk thistle
Erechtites glomerata or Cut-leaved fireweed	Sonchus oleraceus and S. asper or sowthistles
Erodium cicutarium or storksbill/redstem filaree:	Stellaria media or chickweed
Eucalyptus globulus	Vinca major or periwinkle
Festuca arundinacea or tall fescue	Xanthium strumarium or common cocklebur
Foeniculum vulgare or wild fennel