Yesterday the Los Angeles City Council named Toyon as the city's official plant. Heteromeles arbutifolia commonly known as Toyon, is a perennial shrub native to California and Baja California.
Toyon is a prominent component of the coastal sage scrub plant community, and is a part of drought-adapted chaparral and mixed oak woodland habitats. It is also known by the common names Christmas berry and California holly.
The berries provided food for local Native American tribes, such as Chumash, Tongva, and Tataviam. The berries also can be made into a jelly. Native Americans also made a tea from the leaves as a stomach remedy. Most were dried and stored, then later cooked into porridge or pancakes.
Later settlers added sugar to make custard and wine.
In the 1920s, collecting toyon branches for Christmas became so popular in Los Angeles, California that the State of California passed a law forbidding collecting on public land. - Wikipedia
Photo by Miguel Viera.
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from L.A. TACO
An Update On Our Membership Drive: Some Bad News, and Good News
Some bad news, and some good news on our pledge to survive and stay sustainable.
Where To Eat This Weekend: Bulgogi Pupusas, Hemp Seed Guacamole, ‘Sticky Rice Sticks,’ and Korean Street Food In Venice
Plus an Roman chef veteran in a Hollywood apartment, chocolate Cuba Libres, Uzbeki plov with lazer rice, and cochinita melts in a Silver Lake yard. Here are the best things to eat around Los Angeles (and San Juan Capistrano!) this weekend.
How Your Business Can Benefit From Sponsoring L.A. TACO
When your company sponsors L.A. TACO, you receive a variety of quick and cost-effective benefits for far less than what we price our traditional advertisements and social media mentions at.
Juárez-Style Burritos Have Arrived in Southern California, And They are Already Selling Out In Less than An Hour
The month-old strip mall taquería in Anaheim make all their flour tortillas from scratch using both lard and butter, resulting in an extremely tender vehicle for their juicy guisados like carne en su jugo, carne deshebrada, chile colorado, chile relleno, and chicharrón. Every tortilla is cooked to order, too.
