Plants Fungi

Chew on this: cattails, those distinctive wetland plants, make for a tasty snack (or entrée)! Step into our Park Stewardship test kitchen as we share tips on preparing and cooking different parts of the cattail. You’ll find these recipes to be the cat’s pajamas!

In 1997, there was no organized nursery program, restoration work was relatively small-scale, and greenhouses were made of pipes and plastic sheets. From that humble start, Betty Young led nursery staff and dedicated volunteers in growing over 2 million plants. On the eve of Betty’s retirement, hear her story.

Dive back into the weird world of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), as we see how nursery staff and interns are demystifying the growing process for these fascinating plants that live beneath the surface of Mountain Lake in the Presidio.

With our unusually dry winter, you might be wondering what you can do at home to help reduce water usage. Liz Ponzini (Manager of the Tennessee Valley Nursery) shares her expertise, and tips you can use in your own backyard!

Valentine’s Day not exactly your favorite holiday? Just for you incurable curmudgeons—here’s a bouquet of plants with some less-than-romantic names that you certainly won’t be hearing about in any love sonnet.

Along with preparing plants for the busy winter planting season, nursery staff members are also keeping their eyes peeled for a signature seed of the season: acorns! Vital to our restoration efforts in the parks, they’re also important to the indigenous Ohlone tribes of the area.

The California poppy is the much-loved, vivacious floral icon of the Golden State. But is it actually illegal to pick the poppy? Discover the truth behind this rumor—and more fun facts about one of the most recognizable blooms in our parks.

Not as obvious as leaves or as ostentatious as flowers, seeds are often overlooked in our appreciation of plant life. But don’t miss out on their beauty! In this guide, one of the Parks Conservancy’s seed experts picks her favorites.

Working with native plants all the time you begin to develop a huge soft spot for them and it becomes easy to forget that not everyone shares the same love and appreciation for our home-grown plants. But the question remains: why?

The native plant nurseries in the Golden Gate National Parks follow a unique cycle. Since we rely on the park itself for the seeds and plant material we propagate for restoration projects, the nurseries follow the natural cycle of the land. Right now? Transplanting time!