Butterfly Gardening

Gardening for California native butterflies:

Attracting butterflies to your garden is a rewarding way to foster a healthy population of beneficial insects. Witnessing the arrival of the graceful, multicolored beauties in your yard is evidence that by providing habitat and eliminating the use of chemical sprays, nature can restore balance to itself. Drought tolerant native plants are beneficial for species-specific native butterflies that depend on just one or a few types of plants as larval hosts.

These are some of the native plants we grow that attract butterflies:

Botanical Name	Common Name	Flower Color	Host	Nectar
Annuals
Collinsia heterophylla	Chinese houses	Violet / White	x
Lupinus species	Lupine	Blue / White	x
Perennials
Achillea millefolium	Yarrow	White		x
Asclepias species	Milkweed	Cream	x	x
Eriogonum species	Buckwheat	White / Pink / Yellow	x	x
Eriophyllum confertiflorum	Golden yarrow	Yellow		x
Isocoma menziesii	Coast goldenbush	Yellow		x
Acmispon glaber	Deerweed	Yellow	x	x
Diplacus aurantiacus	Monkeyflower	Buff to Apricot	x
Monardella species	Native mints	Lavender / Red		x
Salvia species	Sage	Purple / White / Red / Pink		x
Solidago californica	Goldenrod	Yellow		x
Verbena lilacina	Lilac verbena	Lavender		x
Viguiera laciniata	San Diego sunflower	Yellow		x
Shrubs and Trees
Amorpha fruticosa	False indigo bush	Royal Purple	x
Baccharis pilularis	Coyote bush	Cream		x
Ceanothus species	California lilac	Blue	x	x
Cleome isomeris	Bladderpod	Yellow	x	x
Lavatera assurgentiflora	Tree mallow	Lavender	x
Platanus racemosa	Western sycamore	White	x
Prunus ilicifolia	Hollyleaf cherry	White	x
Quercus species	Oak	White	x
Rhamnus californica	Coffeeberry	Cream	x	x
Ribes species	Currant, Gooseberry	Red / Pink / White		x
Salix species	Willow	Yellow	x	x
Senna species	Cassia	Yellow	x	x

California butterflies & the plants they rely on:

Acmon Blue

• Eriogonum fasciculatum, California buckwheat
• Acmispon glaber, Deerweed
• Lupinus bicolor, Miniature lupine

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Afranius Duskywing

• Acmispon glaber, Deerweed
• Lupinus bicolor, Miniature lupine

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American Lady

• Achillea millefolium, Yarrow
• Artemisia californica, California sagebrush
• Artemisia douglasiana, Mugwort

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Becker’s White:

• Cleome isomeris, Bladderpod

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Blue Copper:

• Erigonum fasciculatum, California buckwheat

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Boisduval’s Blue:

• Lupinus bicolor, Miniature lupine

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California Dogface:

• Amorpha fruticosa, False indigobush

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California Hairstreak:

• Ceanothus spinosus, Greenbark ceanothus
• Ceanothus megacarpus, Big-Pod ceanothus
• Quercus agrifolia, Coast live oak
• Prunus ilicifolia, Hollyleaf cherry

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California Sister:

• Quercus agrifolia, Coast live oak

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Checkered White:

• Cleome isomeris, Bladderpod

Common Buckeye:

• Mimulus guttatus, Golden monkeyflower

Dainty Sulfur:

• Lasthenia californica, California goldenfields
• Layia platyglossa, Tidy tips

Duskywing:

• Acmispon glaber, Deerweed

Edith’s Checkerspot:

• Diplacus aurantiacus, Sticky monkeyflower
• Mimulus guttatus, Golden monkeyflower

Gabb’s Checkerspot:

• Lessingia filaginifolia, California aster

Golden Hairstreak:

• Quercus agrifolia, Coast live oak

Gorgon Copper:

• Eriogonum fasciculatum, California buckwheat

Gold-Hunter’s Hairstreak: 

• Quercus agrifolia, Coast live oak

Gray Hairstreak:

• Acmispon glaber, Deerweed
• Lupinus bicolor, Miniature lupine
• Malacothamnus fasciculatus, Bush mallow

Lorquin’s Admiral:

• Prunus ilicifolia, Hollyleaf cherry
• Salix spp., Willow
• Holodiscus discolor, Ocean spray

Marine Blue:

• Acmispon glaber, Deerweed

Melissa Blue:

• Acmispon glaber, Deerweed
• Lupinus bicolor, Miniature lupine

Monarch:

• Asclepias spp., Milkweed

Mournful Duskywing:

• Quercus agrifolia, Coast live oak

Mourning Cloak: 

• Salix spp., Willow
• Populus spp., Poplar
• Alnus spp., Alder

Orange Sulfur:

• Amorpha fruticosa, False indigobush
• Lotus scoparius, Deerweed
• Lupinus bicolor, Miniature lupine

Painted Lady:

• Achillea millefolium, Yarrow
• Lupinus bicolor, Miniature lupine
• Malacothamnus fasciculatus, Bush mallow

Pale Swallowtail:

• Ceanothus spinosus, Greenbark ceanothus
• Ceanothus megacarpus, Big-Pod ceanothus
• Holodiscus discolor, Ocean spray;
• Platanus racemosa , California sycamore
• Prunus ilicifolia, Hollyleaf cherry
• Rhamnus californica, California coffeeberry
• Rhamnus crocea, Red berry
• Rhamnus ilicifolia, Hollyleaf red berry

Propertius Duskywing: 

• Quercus agrifolia, Coast Live Oak

Queen:

• Asclepias spp., Milkweed

Silver-Spotted Skipper:

• Amorpha fruticosa, False indigo bush
• Acmispon glaber, Deerweed

Silvery Blue:

• Acmispon glaber, Deerweed
• Lupinus bicolor, Miniature lupine

Sonoran Blue:

• Dudleya lanceolata, Lance-leaved dudleya
• Dudleya multicaulis, Many-stemmed dudleya
• Dudleya pulverulenta, Chalk dudleya

Spring Azure:

• Adenostoma fasciculatum, Chamise
• Aesculus californica, California buckeye
• Ceanothus spp., California lilac

Striated Queen: 

• Asclepias spp., Milkweed

Variable Checkerspot:

• Heteromeles arbutifolia, Toyon
• Mimulus aurantiacus, Sticky monkeyflower
• Prunus ilicifolia, Hollyleaf cherry
• Sambucus mexicana, Elderberry
• Symphoricarpos mollis, Creeping snowberry
• Rosa californica, California wild rose

Western Green Hairstreak:

• Ceanothus spinosus, Greenbark ceanothus
• Ceanothus megacarpus, Big-Pod ceanothus
• Acmispon glaber, Deerweed

Western Pygmy-Blue: 

• Atriplex species, Saltbush

Western Tiger Swallowtail:

• Salix spp., Willow
• Alnus spp., Alder
• Prunus ilicifolia, Hollyleaf cherry

The Art & Science of Butterfly Gardening