Native plants for erosion control
Slopes and streambanks wash because turf roots stop a few inches down. These natives hold soil with deep or fibrous root systems — many prairie species put more mass below ground than above — and knit together into something that survives a downpour. On a raw slope the first season is the vulnerable one: plant densely, and mulch or use an erosion blanket until the roots take hold.
Bedfellow lists 282 of these.
The 30 most-observed are listed here — see all 282 in search.
- Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris)
- Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense)
- Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis)
- Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa)
- Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus)
- Wild Sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis)
- California Sagebrush (Artemisia californica)
- Honey Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa)
- Starry False Solomon's Seal (Maianthemum stellatum)
- Prairie Verbena (Glandularia bipinnatifida)
- Beavertail Prickly Pear (Opuntia basilaris)
- Antelope Horns (Asclepias asperula)
- Starflower (Trientalis borealis)
- Frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora)
- River Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)
- Black Sage (Salvia mellifera)
- Chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum)
- Chaparral Yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei)
- American White Waterlily (Nymphaea odorata)
- Lemonade Berry (Rhus integrifolia)
- Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica)
- Soaptree Yucca (Yucca elata)
- Carolina Snailseed (Cocculus carolinus)
- Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata)
- Yellow Passionflower (Passiflora lutea)
- Purple-flowering Raspberry (Rubus odoratus)
- California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum)
- Pacific Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa)
- White Trout Lily (Erythronium albidum)
- Seagrape (Coccoloba uvifera)