Hermosa & Redondo Back Dune Plant List
In Hermosa Beach and other local beach cities, most of the built space resides upon old back dunes. Back dune refers to established dunes in a coastal setting that are detached from the shoreline by other dunes referred to as foredunes. The soil tends to be sandy and well-draining and the shapes of the local landforms may still appear as dunes. Given the proximity to the marine environment, the terrestrial climate in the region is greatly affected by the marine influences and as a result, summer fog is common.
Hermosa Valley School and adjacent Marineland Trailer Park, both located on our local back dunes, have both been beneficiaries of Conze Grants over the years.
This document, published online by the City of Hermosa Beach, has the following to say about dune plant communities for the area in vicinity to Hermosa Valley School and Marineland Trailer Park:
…Historic accounts of vegetation communities within the proposed Project area indicate the presence of both coastal sage scrub and southern coastal scrub communities. Generally, these communities are composed of low-growing, drought-tolerant shrubs with herbs and grasses located in the understory. The scrub communities that were historically present in the region provide a high-value habitat for wildlife and are structurally diverse. However, the scrub and other naturally occurring vegetation communities that were present within the City have been almost entirely removed to allow for urban development, and as a result the City is largely built-out (City of Hermosa Beach, 2014). The City maintains several open-space areas including the beach, the Hermosa Valley Greenbelt (Veterans Parkway), a hillside west of the Marine Land Mobile Home Park, and several large parks. These open space areas largely consist of landscaping and ornamental plants with little native vegetation remaining.
Remaining dune remnants are therefore valuable for restoration. Additionally, homeowners who have similarly-sited property may benefit from selecting plants from this list for growing in their yard, since the plants should be well-adapted to the area. The Bay Foundation has more to say about local dunes.
The plant list here details plants originally native to the Hermosa Beach & Redondo Beach area and has a special section for the the area in vicinity to Hermosa Valley School and Marineland Mobile Home Park.
Download a pdf file of the list below: Redondo and Hermosa Bluffs and Dunes-Baker-2021
Plants for Redondo/Hermosa Bluff and Dune Restoration
SHRUBS
Acmispon (Lotus) glaber Deerweed Dune
Ambrosia chamissonis Beach-bur Dune
Artemisia californica Coastal Sagebrush Bluff
Atriplex lentiformis Coastal Salt Bush Dune/Bluff
Croton californicus California Croton Dune
Encelia californica Bush Sunflower Dune/Bluff
Ericameria ericoides Mock Heather Dune
Eriogonum cinereum Ashyleaf Buckwheat Bluff
Eriogonum parvifolium Coastal Buckwheat Dune/Bluff
Galium angustifolium Narrow-leaved Bedstraw Dune/Bluff
Isocoma menziesii ssp. vernonoides Coast Golden Bush Dune/Bluff
Lupinus chamissonis Dune Lupine Dune
Peritoma (Isomeris) arborea Bladderpod Dune/Bluff
Phacelia ramosissima Branching Phacelia Dune
Rhus integrifolia Lemonadeberry Bluff
Salvia mellifera Black Sage Bluff
PERENNIAL/BIENNIAL
Abronia umbellata Sand Verbena Dune
Asclepius fascicularis Narrowleaf Milkweed Bluff
Astragalus trichopodus ssp. lonchus Rattlepod/Milk Vetch Bluff
Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia Dune Evening Primrose Dune
Corethrogyne filaginifolia Cudweed Aster Dune/Bluff
Datura wrightii Sacred Datura/Toloache Dune
Dichelostemma capitatum Blue Dicks (bulb) Dune
Dudleya virens ssp. insularis Island Green Dudleya Bluff
Erysimum suffrutescens Dune Wallflower Dune
Eschscholzia californica var. maritima Coastal California Poppy Dune/Bluff
Heliotropium curassavicum var. occulatum Seaside Heliotrope Dune
Horkelia cuneata Wedge Leaf Horkelia Dune
Leptosyne (Coreopsis) maritima Sea Dahlia Dune
Malacothrix saxatilis Cliff Aster Dune/Bluff
Pseudognaphalium biolens Two-tone Everlasting Dune/Bluff
Pseudognaphalium californicum California Everlasting Dune/Bluff
Pseudognaphalium canescens Felt Leaf Everlasting Dune/Bluff
Rumex hymenosepalus Sand Dock/Wild Rhubarb Dune
Senecio flaccidus var. douglasii Groundsel/Butterweed Dune
ANNUALS
Amsinckia intermedia Common Fiddleneck
Calandrinia menziesii Red Maids
Camissoniopsis bistora Southern Sun Cups
Camissoniopsis micrantha Small Flowered Primrose
Chaenactis glabriuscula Yellow Pincushion
Clarkia purpurea Purple Farewell to Spring
Croton setiger Turkey Mullein/Doveweed
Cryptantha/Plagiobothrys species Popcorn Flower
Deinandra fasciculata Slender Tarweed
Descurainia pinnata Tansy Mustard
Eriogonum gracile Slender Buckwheat
Gilia capitata Blue Field Gilia
Heterotheca grandiflora Telegraph Weed
Lasthenia californica Goldfields
Lepidium lasiocarpum Dune Peppergrass
Layia platyglossa Tidy-tips
Linanthus dianthiflorus Ground Pink
Lupinus bicolor Miniature Lupine
Lupinus succulentus Arroyo Lupine
Lupinus truncatus Collared Lupine
Mentzelia affinis Blazing Star
Nuttallanthus Canadensis Blue Toadflax
Phacelia distans Common Phacelia
Phacelia stellaris Brand’s Star Phacelia
Plantago erecta Dwarf/Dotseed Plantain
Playstemon californicus Cream Cups
Rafinesquia californica California Chicory
Salvia carduacea Thistle Sage
Salvia columbariae Chia Sage
Stephanomeria exigua Wreath Plant
This list compiled by Tony Baker is an informal list not meant to be a complete list of all plants recorded.
Local native plants for vicinity of Hermosa Valley School and Marineland Mobile Home Park
Sand Verbena Abronia umbellata
Deerweed/Deer Vetch Acmispon glaber
Coast Salt Bush Atriplex lentiformis
Dune Primrose Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia
Farewell to Spring Clarkia purpurea
California Croton Croton californicus
Bush Sunflower Encelia californica
Mock Heather Ericameria ericoides
Ashyleaf Buckwheat Eriogonum cinereum
Dune Buckwheat Eriogonum parvifolium
Dune Wallflower Erysimum suffrutescens
Coastal California Poppy Eschscholzia californica var. maritima
Seaside Heliotrope Heliotropium curassavicum
Wedge Leaf Horkelia Horkelia cuneata
Coast Golden Bush Isocoma menziesii ssp. vernonoides
Sea Dahlia Leptosyne maritima
Miniature Lupine Lupinus bicolor
Dune Lupine Lupinus chamissonis
Arroyo Lupine Lupinus succulentus
Bladderpod Peritoma arboreus
Branching Phacelia Phacelia ramosissima
Everlasting species Pseudognaphalium species
Sand Dock/Wild Rhubarb Rumex hymenosepalus
This is a list of plants that would have been historically found on this back slope of the natural dunes of the area. It is not a complete list, but are plants that may be available from native nurseries. Ideally the plants will be grown from locally sourced seeds when possible.