Boraginaceae: Borages

Saururaceae: Lizard's tails

Saxifragaceae: Saxifrages. All are perennial herbs, generally with 5-merous flowers and two ovules in a cup-like structure from the edge of which arise the sepals, petals and stamens.

Orchidaceae: Orchids: One of the two largest plant families (along with Asteraceae), with up to 25,000 currently accepted species, but most are tropical and only four species are native to our area, two uncommon and two very rare.  All orchids are herbaceous perennials that are often long-lived.  Most tropical forms grow nonparasitically on trees while temperate species including all California species are usually terrestrial.  In California native orchids, nutrition is derived from association of roots with fungi in non-green species, and from rhizomes or tubers with fleshy roots in green plants.  Flowers are on spikes, with each flower subtended by a bract.  Flowers are bisexual, rotating 180 degrees in bud and turning upside down. There are generally 3 petal-like sepals, one central, erect and two lateral; 3 petals, the lowest called the lip differs from the others; one stamen, fused with the style and stigma into a column.  Pollen confined to sacs (pollinia), not freely dispersed, but removed intact on the body of the pollinator; ovary inferior, stigma 3-lobed, under the column tip.  Fruit is a capsule, with numerous minute seeds (JM2).