List of Bird & Butterfly Plants

Some Popular (i.e. nutritious?) Butterfly and Moth Larval Food Plants

Urtica 

Malva 

Cirsium 

Aster chilensis

Grasses

Eriogonum spp. 

Lupinus, Lotus, Vicia, Trifolium?

Salix/Populus

Quercus

Ceanothus

Prunus?

Brassicaceae

Apiaceae?

Rosaceae?

Some Popular Bird Food Plants

Elaeagnus

Vaccinium

Toyon

Sorbus

Crataegus

Amelanchier

Pyracantha

Madrone

Cotoneaster

Quercus (acorns & bugs)

Salix/Populus (bugs)

Apricot 

Apple

Fig (especially brebas)

Cherry (including Prunus serotina in August and P. avium in June)

Persimmon

Atriplex breweri?

Thistles (seed and down)

Amaranth

Cosmos

Echinochloa, Setaria? (hop grasses)

Almond

Walnut

Callistemon

Epilobium (Zauschneria)

Ribes speciosum

Fuchsia

(Arrange these into categories:  berries, other fruit, nuts, seeds, bugs, nectar, etc. and state that even if you only have a small garden, you can maximize its birdyness by growing “one from column A, one from column F. . .” Especially choose those species that offer multiple uses, e.g. Crataegus, Lonicera, Quercus, Callistemon, Pyracantha.)

Unless you have lots of space in which to maximize overall plant diversity (which is always good), stick to the tried-and-true, meat-and-potatoes plants.

Warning:  be wary of such lists in books meant for Eastern birds, and of very long lists, and of plants promoted by nurseries as having “wildlife” value.  All of these tend to include a majority of plants that are marginally useful and usually don’t justify the space they require.