A number in front of a flower name indicates a particularly recommended plant (1 = most recommended). Numbers in "BLOOM SEASON" correspond to the month (4 = April, 5 = May, etc.). Abbreviations: A=alien species, N = native species.

		FLOWER	HEIGHT	COLOR	BLOOM SEASON	ATTRACTED BUTTERFLIES	COMMENTS
N/A		Bur marigolds    Bidens	2-5'	white,pink yellow	1-12	Gulf Fritillary Vanessids Common Buckeye Skippers
A		Heliotrope    Heliotropium arborescens	1'	white, pale purple	1-12	many	long-lived where no hard freezes
N		Yerba santa    Eriodictyon	3-5'	white, lavendar	2-4	many	available from Las Pilitas nursery
N		Phacelia    Phacelia californica	1-2'	lavendar	3-5	many
A		Butterfly bush    Buddleia davidii	8'	purple, magenta, white	3-10	many	season of bloom depends on pruning
A		Statice    Statice	2'	purple	3-10	many
A	1	Dandelion    Taraxacum officinale	1'	yellow	3-11	Gossamer Wings (Lycaenids) Vanessids Skippers	a common lawn weed
A	1	Jupiter's beard    Centranthus ruber	2'	pink crimson	3-11	Pipevine Swallowtail Anise Swallowtail California Tortoiseshell Vanessids Common Buckeye Monarch Comm. Checkered-Skipper	easy to grow; white-flowered variety unattractive to butterflies
A		Cape Plumbago    Plumbago capensis	12' (vine)	light blue	3-12	Swallowtails Vanessids Monarch Skippers	requires support
N	1	California buckeye    Aesculus californica	to 40'	pink-white	4-6	many (best native nectar plant)	prune to desired height
A		Sage    Salvia clevelandii and others	1-3'	light purple	4-10	Pipevine Swallowtail Anise Swallowtail
N		Spikeweeds (tarweeds)    Hemizonia	1-4'	yellow	4-11	many
N		Whitethorn    Ceanothus incanus	1-4'	white	3-7		no summer water needed
A		Butterfly bush    Buddleia globosa	5-6'	gold	4-6	California Sister Monarch
N		Toyon    Heteromeles californica	4-8'	white	5-7	many	do not prune in spring
N/A	1	Thistles    Cirsiumsp.	2-4'	pink, purple	6-9	many, especially fall Monarchs
A	1	Lantanas    Lantana camara, hirta, montevidensis	3'	yellow, orange, magenta, white, pink	6-9	Pipevine, Anise, Western Tiger Swallowtails Gray Hairstreak Gulf Fritillary Checkerspots Vanessids Monarch Skippers	easy to grow; white flowers attract Checkerspots and Common Buckeye
A		Verbena    Verbena	1-4'	purple	6-10	Pipevine, Anise, Western Tiger Swallowtails Monarch	'Homestead Purple' is a good cultivar
A		Glossy abelia    Abeliax grandiflora	6-8'	white	6-11	Vanessids (Ladies and Red Admiral) Monarch	a shrub
A		Blue leadwort    Cerastostigma griffithii	2-3'	bright blue	7-11	Gulf Fritillary Ladies Skippers
A		Escallonia    Escallonia montevidensis	3-10'	white, pink	7-11	Swallowtails Vanessids (Ladies and Red Admiral) Monarch	easy to establish; prune for size or to induce bloom
A		Mexican sunflower    Tithonia rotundifolia	6-8'	orange	7-11	Pipevine & Western Tiger Swallowtails Monarch
N		Anchor plant    Colletia cruciata	to 6'	white	8-10	Vanessids Common Buckeye Monarch	prickly, cactus-like plant
A/N		Asters    Aster	6"	lavendar	8-10	Gossamer Wings Crescents Vanessids Common Buckeye Monarch Skippers

Abbreviations: A = alien species, N = native species.

	FLOWER	COMMENTS
A	Daylilies(Hemerocallis)	Common in the area but butterflies don't visit them.

A number in front of a plant name indicates a particularly recommended plant (1 = most recommended). Abbreviations: A=alien species, N = native species.

		NAME	HEIGHT	BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS	COMMENTS
A/N		Asters    Aster	1-4'	Field Crescent	naturalize on slope or in meadow
N		Buckwheats    Eriogonum latifolium, nudum, parvifolium	1-2'	Gray Hairstreak, Acmon Blue	(E. fascicularis not used)
N		California buckeye    Aesculus californica	8-15'	'Echo' Spring Azure	can be pruned in late summer
N		California bee plant    Scrophularia californica	2-3'	Variable (Chalcedon) Checkerspot	likes moisture
N		California pipevine    Aristolochia californica	vine	Pipevine Swallowtail	(A. elegans toxic to caterpillars)
N		California sycamore    Platanus racemosa	40-90'	Western Tiger Swallowtail	grows along streams
N		Coffeeberry    Rhamnus californica	3-10'	'Echo' Spring Azure	'Eve Case' stays small, compact
N		Cottonwoods, poplars    Populus	to 40-70'	Western Tiger Swallowtail, Mourning Cloak, Lorquin's Admiral
N	1	Cudweeds    Gnaphalium	1-2'	American Lady	does well as edging or crevice plant
A	1	Fennel    Foeniculum vulgare	8'	Anise Swallowtail	Plant should be kept cut back.
N		Globemallows    Sphaeralcea	2-4'	Gray Hairstreak, Painted Lady West Coast Lady, Common Checkered-Skipper	weedy mallows are also used
A	1	Hollyhock    Althaea rosea	8'	Painted Lady, West Coast Lady Common Checkered-Skipper	Single or double-it doesn't matter.
A		Mexican milkweed    Asclepias curassavica	2-3'	Monarch
N	2	Narrow-leaved milkweed    Asclepias fascicularis	2-4'	Monarch
N	1	Nasturtium    Tropaelum majus	1'	Cabbage White	easy; self seeds
A/N		Nettles    Urtica	1/2-5'	Red Admiral Anglewings
A/N	1	Passion vine    Passiflora caerulea (and others)	to 20'	Gulf Fritillary	must be in full sun to be used
A	1	Pellitory    Parietaria judaica	2'	Red Admiral	needs water when dry to be used
A/N		Penstemon    Penstemon	1-4'	Checkerspots (inland species prefer penstemon) Common Buckeye
N/A	1	Plantains    Plantago hirtella, lanceolata	1'	Common Buckeye	common weed
N		Sidalceas    Sidalcea	1-3'	Painted Lady, West Coast Lady, Common Checkered-Skipper; perhaps Gray Hairstreak
A		Snapdragons    Antirrhinum majus	1'	Common Buckeye
A/N		Sticky monkeyflower    Mimulus aurantiacus	1-4'	Checkerspots (combine with bee plant) Common Buckeye (combine with plantain)
N/A		Thistles    Cirsium	2-5'	Mylitta Crescent, Painted Lady	plant in stages to stagger new growth
N		Toyon    Heteromeles californica	4-8'	'Echo' Spring Azure	prune to suit after spring adult flight
N		Willows    Salix	to 15-50'	Western Tiger Swallowtail, Mourning Cloak (prefers S. hindsii), Lorquin's Admiral

A number in front of a butterfly indicates a particularly likely species (1 = most expected to be observed). Numbers in "FLIGHT PERIOD" and "CATERPILLAR SEASON" correspond to the month (4 = April, 5 = May, etc.), with < meaning earlier in the month, m the middle of the month, and > late in the month.

	NAME	FLIGHT PERIOD	CATERPILLAR SEASON	CATERPILLAR FOOD PLANTS	COMMENTS
2	Anise Swallowtail    Papilio zelicaon	2-11	2-11	fennel, parsley
1	Western Tiger Swallowtail    Papilio rutulus	3-11	4-11	cherry, poplar, sycamore, willow	2nd brood much larger than 1st
1	Cabbage White    Pieris rapae	1-12	1-12	mustard (cabbage) family; nasturtium
2	Gray Hairstreak    Strymon melinus	3-10	3-10	mallows, buckwheats, many others
	'Echo' Spring Azure    Celastrina ladon (echo)	2-7	2-7	flowers of many spring-flowering shrubs & trees
	Acmon Blue    Plebejus acmon	2-10	2-10	buckwheats (Eriogonum) lotus
	Gulf Fritillary    Agraulis vanillae	3-11	3-11	passion vines	found near this plant when in sun
	Mourning Cloak    Nymphalis antiopa	2-11	3-7	hackberries, willows
2	Painted Lady    Vanessa cardui	2-11	2-11	Hollyhock, cheeseweed, thistles, others	large fluctuations in abundance
1	West Coast Lady    Vanessa annabella	3-10	6-8	cheeseweed and other mallows
1	Red Admiral    Vanessa atalanta	1-12	1-12	pellitory, nettles
	Monarch    Danaus plexippus	12-2 (overwintering) 3-6 & 9-11 (migrant)		milkweeds	summers in Mount Diablo area
2	Common Checkered-Skipper    Pyrgus communis	3-11	3-11	cheeseweed, sidalceas, globemallows, mallows
1	Fiery Skipper    Hylephila phyleus	3-11		grasses and sedges, especially Bermuda grass, Bromus carinatus, Sporobolus
	Umber Skipper    Poanes melane	3-11		grasses and sedges

Numbers in "FLIGHT PERIOD" and "CATERPILLAR SEASON" correspond to the month (4 = April, 5 = May, etc.), with < meaning earlier in the month, m the middle of the month, and > late in the month.

	NAME	FLIGHT PERIOD	CATERPILLAR SEASON	CATERPILLAR FOOD PLANTS	COMMENTS
	Pipevine Swallowtail    Battus philenor	3-7	4-7	pipevines
	Orange Sulphur    Colias eurytheme	2-11	2-11	alfalfa, clovers, and related legumes	in Bay Area in late summer
	Field Crescent    Phyciodes campestris	3-10	3-10	asters	butterfly stays close to asters
	Mylitta Crescent    Phyciodes mylitta	3-10	3-10	thistles
	Checkerspots    Euphydryas	3-6	3-4	coastal: bee plant, sticky monkeyflower inland: penstemons
	California Tortoiseshell    Nymphalis californica	2-11	4-8	Ceanothus	large fluctuations in abundance
	Common Buckeye    Junonia coenia	1-12	1-12	Plantain, monkeyflower, snapdragon	common in some years, scarce others
	Lorquin's Admiral    Limenitis lorquini	4-10	4-10	cottonwoods, poplars, willows

USDA ZONE: not applicable; very little frost, very little heat.

   The soil around Berkeley is clay; add lots of compost in this particular area, even to grow weeds (or grow in shallow raised beds on top of clay). Elsewhere compost should only be used where it does not destroy the integrity of mineral surfaces that many native soils have. The weather is mild year-round and doesn't correspond to USDA zones. Butterflies and caterpillars can be found almost year-round, so plan for nectar over almost all the year and don't cut back caterpillar food plants all at once. Transfer any larvae from pruned plants to fresh growing foliage. Many caterpillar food plants can be grown without watering (although watered plants that are fresh and tender are more attractive to butterflies) since they are weeds, or can become weedy. These weeds (aliens) are common in the region and are used frequently by the butterflies. For example, pellitory is not commercially available but will transplant readily. Pellitory should not be planted in Contra Costa County or near natural areas. Plantain is another favored weed that does not require the moist conditions necessary for the native Plantago hirtella. Butterfly plants consist of every type of plant you might grow in your garden: annuals, perennials, bushes, trees, vegetables, shade plants, weeds, lawn grass, and lawn weeds. Plan your landscape as a whole, figuring out where you want each of these types of plants around your home, and then incorporate butterfly plants into the landscape plan. It's also easy to add butterfly plants into an existing garden this way. Try to work with other gardeners to maximize butterfly habitat in your neighborhood. Nectar plants need to be in sunny places to be useful to butterflies. Water is very important in this region and should be provided in as naturalistic a way as possible (e.g., an imitation of a seep on a rocky slope; a mud-bank on a flat area). Keep notes and share what you learn!

Copyright © 1996 by the North American Butterfly Association, Inc. All rights reserved.