Kern County is home to a large variety of native plants. At the confluence of several bioregions, Kern County has it all from scorching deserts to the cool mountaintops of the Sierra Nevada and almost every habitat in between. According to Dr Maynard Moe in his Kern County Flora: A key to Vascular Plants of Kern County, California there 128 different plant families, 624 genera, and nearly 2,000 different species of native plants in Kern County.
Kern CNPS members have compiled checklists of plants found at various locations across the county. We’ve compiled them here so others can use them when in the field.
In addition, individual plants lists can be created for anywhere in the county using CalFlora. Go to CalFlora’s What Grows Here and follow the directions to create your own plant list with photos for easier identification.
Additional Resources
In addition to resources from the Kern Chapter, there are a number of online botanical databases and other websites that provide extensive information about California plants. Some of the main ones include: