Activity: Meet California Native Plants

Introduction

California is home to more than 6,000 native plants that have evolved in this environment. They help make the land resilient to drought and fire and provide food and habitat for people and animals.

This set of California Native Plant Cards, developed in collaboration with Samantha Morales Johnson Yang, a Tongva ethnobotanist, features seven native plants found in Southern California, including coast live oak and white sage. The cards feature plants that are ambassadors of Tongva culture and combine Western botanical knowledge with Indigenous science—also known as Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Instead of learning about plants through identification and memorization, the cards’ prompts encourage students to look closely, engagetheir senses, and build connections.Each cardis written in the first person to encourage students to see plantsasliving beingsandhelpbuild relationshipswith them.