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Coastal sage scrub (or simply coastal scrub) is a low scrubland
Scrubland

Scrubland is a plant community characterized by scrub vegetation. Scrubland consists of shrubs, mixed with grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Scrublands may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity....
 plant community found in the California chaparral and woodlands
California chaparral and woodlands

The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of central and southern California and northwestern Baja California , located on the west coast of North America....
 ecoregion of coastal California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
 and northern Baja California
Baja California

Baja California is the northernmost States of Mexico of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North Territory of Baja California....
. It is characterized by low-growing aromatic, and drought-deciduous shrubs adapted to the semi-arid Mediterranean climate
Mediterranean climate

A Mediterranean climate is one that resembles the climate of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, which includes over half of the area with this climate type world-wide....
 of the coastal lowlands. The community is sometimes called soft chaparral
Chaparral

Chaparral is a shrubland or Heath plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of Lower California, Mexico....
 due to the predominance of soft, drought-deciduous leaves in contrast to the hard, waxy-cuticled leaves on sclerophyllous plants of California's chaparral communities.

Characteristic plants include California sagebrush
Artemisia californica

Artemisia californica, also known as California sagebrush, of the Asteraceae, is a shrub that grows in coastal sage scrub, coastal strand, chaparral, and dry foothill communities, from sea level to 800 m ....
 (Artemisia californica), black sage
Black Sage

Black Sage is a small, highly aromatic, evergreen shrub of the genus Salvia native to California, USA and Baja California, Mexico. It is common in the coastal sage scrub of Southern California and northern Baja California....
 (Salvia mellifera), white sage
White sage

Salvia apiana, also known as white sage, bee sage, or sacred sage, is an evergreen Perennial plant shrub of the genus Salvia, the sages....
 (Salvia apiana), California buckwheat
Eriogonum fasciculatum

Eriogonum fasciculatum is a species of Eriogonum known by the common names California buckwheat and Eastern Mojave buckwheat. This common shrub is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, where it grows on scrubby slopes and in chaparral and Arroyo in a number of habitats....
 (Eriogonum fasciculatum), coast brittle-bush
Encelia californica

Encelia californica is a species of flowering plant in the Asteraceae known by the common name California brittlebush. This shrub is native to southern California and Baja California where it is a member of the Coastal sage scrub plant community at the shoreline....
 (Encelia californica), golden yarrow
Eriophyllum confertiflorum

Eriophyllum confertiflorum is a flowering plant in the Asteraceae which is known by the common name golden yarrow or yellow yarrow....
 (Eriophyllum confertifolium), with the larger shrubs toyon
Toyon

Toyon is a common Perennial plant shrub native to California, USA and the extreme northwest of Mexico, from northern California to northern Baja California....
 (Heteromeles arbutifolia) and Lemonade berry
Rhus integrifolia

Rhus integrifolia, also known as Lemonade Berry, Lemonadeberry, or Lemonade Sumac is a shrub to small tree that is one to eight meters in height, with a sprawling form....
 (Rhus integrifolia), along with other shrubs and herbaceous plants, grasses
Poaceae

Poaceae or Gramineae is a family in the Class Liliopsida of the Magnoliophyta. Plants of this family are usually called grasses; the shrub- or tree-like plants in this family are called bamboo ....
, and in some places, cacti
Cactus

A cactus is any member of the spine plant family Cactaceae, native to the Americas. They are often used as ornamental plants, but some are also Crop plants....
 and succulents.

Coastal sage scrub is divided into two geographical subtypes – northern coastal scrub and southern coastal scrub.

Northern coastal scrub
Northern coastal scrub occurs along the Pacific Coast
Pacific Coast

A country's Pacific coast is the part of its coast facing the Pacific Ocean....
 from the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, or the Bay, is a metropolitan region that surrounds the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay Bays in Northern California....
 north to southern Oregon
Oregon

Oregon is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The area was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before the arrival of traders, explorers and settlers....
.






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Encyclopedia


Coastal sage scrub (or simply coastal scrub) is a low scrubland
Scrubland

Scrubland is a plant community characterized by scrub vegetation. Scrubland consists of shrubs, mixed with grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Scrublands may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity....
 plant community found in the California chaparral and woodlands
California chaparral and woodlands

The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of central and southern California and northwestern Baja California , located on the west coast of North America....
 ecoregion of coastal California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
 and northern Baja California
Baja California

Baja California is the northernmost States of Mexico of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North Territory of Baja California....
. It is characterized by low-growing aromatic, and drought-deciduous shrubs adapted to the semi-arid Mediterranean climate
Mediterranean climate

A Mediterranean climate is one that resembles the climate of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, which includes over half of the area with this climate type world-wide....
 of the coastal lowlands. The community is sometimes called soft chaparral
Chaparral

Chaparral is a shrubland or Heath plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of Lower California, Mexico....
 due to the predominance of soft, drought-deciduous leaves in contrast to the hard, waxy-cuticled leaves on sclerophyllous plants of California's chaparral communities.

Characteristic plants include California sagebrush
Artemisia californica

Artemisia californica, also known as California sagebrush, of the Asteraceae, is a shrub that grows in coastal sage scrub, coastal strand, chaparral, and dry foothill communities, from sea level to 800 m ....
 (Artemisia californica), black sage
Black Sage

Black Sage is a small, highly aromatic, evergreen shrub of the genus Salvia native to California, USA and Baja California, Mexico. It is common in the coastal sage scrub of Southern California and northern Baja California....
 (Salvia mellifera), white sage
White sage

Salvia apiana, also known as white sage, bee sage, or sacred sage, is an evergreen Perennial plant shrub of the genus Salvia, the sages....
 (Salvia apiana), California buckwheat
Eriogonum fasciculatum

Eriogonum fasciculatum is a species of Eriogonum known by the common names California buckwheat and Eastern Mojave buckwheat. This common shrub is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, where it grows on scrubby slopes and in chaparral and Arroyo in a number of habitats....
 (Eriogonum fasciculatum), coast brittle-bush
Encelia californica

Encelia californica is a species of flowering plant in the Asteraceae known by the common name California brittlebush. This shrub is native to southern California and Baja California where it is a member of the Coastal sage scrub plant community at the shoreline....
 (Encelia californica), golden yarrow
Eriophyllum confertiflorum

Eriophyllum confertiflorum is a flowering plant in the Asteraceae which is known by the common name golden yarrow or yellow yarrow....
 (Eriophyllum confertifolium), with the larger shrubs toyon
Toyon

Toyon is a common Perennial plant shrub native to California, USA and the extreme northwest of Mexico, from northern California to northern Baja California....
 (Heteromeles arbutifolia) and Lemonade berry
Rhus integrifolia

Rhus integrifolia, also known as Lemonade Berry, Lemonadeberry, or Lemonade Sumac is a shrub to small tree that is one to eight meters in height, with a sprawling form....
 (Rhus integrifolia), along with other shrubs and herbaceous plants, grasses
Poaceae

Poaceae or Gramineae is a family in the Class Liliopsida of the Magnoliophyta. Plants of this family are usually called grasses; the shrub- or tree-like plants in this family are called bamboo ....
, and in some places, cacti
Cactus

A cactus is any member of the spine plant family Cactaceae, native to the Americas. They are often used as ornamental plants, but some are also Crop plants....
 and succulents.

Coastal sage scrub is divided into two geographical subtypes – northern coastal scrub and southern coastal scrub.

Northern coastal scrub


Northern coastal scrub occurs along the Pacific Coast
Pacific Coast

A country's Pacific coast is the part of its coast facing the Pacific Ocean....
 from the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, or the Bay, is a metropolitan region that surrounds the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay Bays in Northern California....
 north to southern Oregon
Oregon

Oregon is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The area was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before the arrival of traders, explorers and settlers....
. It frequently forms a landscape mosaic with coastal prairie
California coastal prairie

California coastal prairie, also known as northern coastal grassland, is a grassland plant community of California and Oregon. It is found along the Pacific coast, from perhaps as far south as Los Angeles, California to southern Oregon....
. The predominant plants are low evergreen
Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
 shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s and herb
Herb

A herb is a plant that is valued for qualities such as medicinal properties, flavor, scent, or the like....
s. Characteristic shrubs include coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis), california yerba santa
Eriodictyon

Eriodictyon is a genus of plants within the Hydrophyllaceae Family .It includes Yerba Santa , along with other similarly-named plants....
 (Eriodictyon californicum), coast silk-tassel (Garrya elliptica), salal
Salal

Salal or shallon is a leathery-leaved shrub native to western North America. Its dark blue "berries" are edible and are efficient appetite suppressants, with a unique flavor....
 (Gaultheria shallon), and yellow bush lupine (Lupinus arboreus). Herbaceous species include Western Blue-eyed Grass
Western Blue-eyed Grass

The Western Blue-eyed Grass or Californian Blue-eyed Grass, Sisyrinchium bellum, is the common blue-eyed grass of California and Oregon west of the Sierra Nevada s, its range extending south into Baja California....
 (Sisyrinchium bellum), Douglas iris
Douglas Iris

The Douglas Iris, Iris douglasiana, is a common and attractive wildflower of the coastal regions of Northern California and Central California and southern Oregon....
 (Iris douglasiana), and grasses
Poaceae

Poaceae or Gramineae is a family in the Class Liliopsida of the Magnoliophyta. Plants of this family are usually called grasses; the shrub- or tree-like plants in this family are called bamboo ....
.

Southern coastal scrub


Southern coastal scrub is mostly found along the coast in Central
Central California

California has two regions with "Central" in their names:*Central Valley *Central Coast, CaliforniaThe southern part of the Central Valley and all of the Central Coast are south of the major Northern California urban areas and north of the major Southern California urban area and the Tehachapi Mountains....
 and Southern California
Southern California

Southern California, or So Cal, is defined as the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population centers on the cities of Los Angeles, California, San Diego, California, San Bernardino, California, and Riverside, California....
, from the San Francisco Bay Area in the north, through the Oxnard Plain
Oxnard Plain

The Oxnard Plain is a large coastal plain in southwest Ventura County, California bounded by the Santa Monica Mountains, the Santa Susana Mountains, and Oak Ridge to the east, the Topatopa Mountains to the north, the Santa Clara River Valley to the northeast and the Pacific Ocean to the south and west....
 of Ventura County, the Los Angeles Basin
Los Angeles Basin

File:Los Angeles Basin.jpgThe Los Angeles Basin is the coastal sediment-filled plain located between the Peninsular Ranges and Transverse Ranges in southern California in the United States containing the central part of the city of Los Angeles, California as well as its southern and southeastern suburbs ....
, most of Orange County
Orange County, California

Orange County is a county in Southern California California, United States. Its county seat is Santa Ana, California. The state of California estimates its population as of 2008 to be 3,121,251, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County, California and San Diego County, California....
, parts of Riverside County, coastal San Diego County, and the northwestern corner of Mexico's Baja California state, including the region around Tijuana
Tijuana

Tijuana , is the largest city of the Mexican state of Baja California, situated on the United States?Mexico border adjacent to its sister city of San Diego, California....
 and Ensenada.

The metropolitan areas of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
, San Diego, and Tijuana
Tijuana

Tijuana , is the largest city of the Mexican state of Baja California, situated on the United States?Mexico border adjacent to its sister city of San Diego, California....
 are located in the southern coastal scrublands, and most of the scrublands have been lost to urbanization
Urbanization

Urbanization is the physical growth of rural or natural land into urban areas as a result of population im-migration to an existing urban area....
 and agriculture
Agriculture

Agriculture refers to the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of civilization, with the animal husbandry of domestication animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more Population density and Social stratification societies....
. The plants of this community prefer the mild maritime climates found along California's coastline. World Wildlife Fund estimates that only 15% of the coastal sage scrublands remain undeveloped.

A number of rare
Rare species

A rare species is an organism which is very uncommon or scarce. This designation may be applied to either a plant or animal taxon, and may be distinct from the term "endangered species" or "threatened species"....
 and endangered species
Endangered species

An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters....
 occur in Southern coastal scrub habitats. For example, the California Gnatcatcher
California Gnatcatcher

The California Gnatcatcher , is a small 10.8 cm long insectivorous bird which frequents dense coastal sage scrub growth. This species was recently split from the similar Black-tailed Gnatcatcher of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts....
 (Polioptila californica), is a critically endangered bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
 species endemic
Endemic (ecology)

Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a particular geographic location, such as a specific island, Habitat type, nation, or other defined zone....
 to the coastal sage scrublands. At the Torrey Pines State Reserve
Torrey Pines State Reserve

Torrey Pines State Reserve is a coastal state park located in the California community of La Jolla, California, off North Torrey Pines Road ....
 the endangered Torrey Pine
Torrey Pine

The Torrey pine , also called "Del Mar pine" and "soledad pine," is a broad, open-crowned pine growing to 8-15 m tall, with 20-35 cm long leaves in groups of five....
 (Pinus torreyana) is found as the dominant tree, in one of only two known stands of this Pine species.

See also

  • Terrace deposit
    Terrace deposit

    A terrace deposit is geology term for a flat platform of land created alongside of a river or sea, where, at some time in the past, the river has cut itself a deeper channel....


Line notes


External links