My morning walks in the small urban canyon near my home have recently transformed. The beautiful red berries of Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) also known as California Holly Berry have appeared. An evergreen shrub, in the Rose family (Rosaceae) Toyon shines bright during the winter months in Southern California. The red berries are food for birds, coyotes and bears. I like to imagine the coyotes that sometimes roam the canyon snacking on them and the birds filling themselves with berries each morning. Toyon berries are a traditional food of Native American tribes and the leaves are used medicinally. During the summer months the white flowers that decorate the dark green leaves are beloved by pollinators and bees. Toyon is an important part of the coastal sage brush, oak woodlands and chaparral plant communities from Northern Baja to the Pacific Northwest. I am amazed at the abundance of Toyon I see on my morning walks.
I am grateful for the opportunity to spend time with Toyon each year. A walk in the morning with my dog through this urban canyon clears my mind and feeds my soul. The birds sing, I may even hear the flap of a Hawk’s wing as trees rustle with squirrels. The canyon dead ends into a busy freeway and yet…the natural world rules here. This tiny piece of land caught between a freeway and a neighborhood is rich with life. The native plants like Toyon, Sycamore, Elderberry, Black Sage, Oak and more thrive. Intermixed with the native plants are many plant immigrants, from all over the world. Eucalyptus trees provide a perch for hawks, beautiful purple sweet peas bloom briefly each spring and many other plants find a home away from home here. Reliably after the winter rains all kinds of useful and edible weeds pop up, Nettle, Miner’s lettuce and delicate Chickweed.
In an urban environment like San Diego these tiny pockets of nature provide critical habitat for the plants and animals that share the earth with us. I hope you have time to pause and notice the natural world around you this winter.
The earth offers us winter each year, a moment to rest and restore. So we are ready to bloom when the seasons turn again towards spring. Before I leave the canyon I offer my thanks to Toyon, for reminding me to celebrate the beauty of rest and that everything has a season.
By Cindy Saylor. Cindy’s practice is Everyday Plant Magic. She is an herbalist, nutritionist, community educator and devoted to sharing the teachings of the plants and the earth that have been shared with her. Learn more: everydayplantmagic.com
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