California Pepper Tree

There aren't many trees in the California Coastal Scrub habitat. It is unique to southern California, found from sea level to 1500 feet in elevation, the coast to the foothills. The shallow dry soil and Mediterranean climate is home to mainly soft-stemmed drought resistance chaparral. Other than ornamental landscaping trees, most of the few trees you do find were brought here from somewhere else (and now are considered invasive). The California Pepper Tree (Schinus molle) is actually native to the Andes Mountains of Peru and was brought to the early missions by the Franciscans who needed a drought resistant shade tree.

Here a lone Pepper Tree provides a bit of drought resistant shade on the parched hills.