Autotroph

An autotroph is a living thing that makes its own food, usually using sunlight, water, and air.

Poppy in Field - photo by Fred Brown

Photo by Fred Brown

Autotroph

Species

A cluster of articulated coralline algae with pinkish-red, branching fronds growing on a rocky underwater surface alongside small snails.

Articulated Coralline Algae

A blue blossom shrub covered in dense clusters of bright bluish-purple flowers, surrounded by glossy green leaves in sunlight.

Blue Blossom

Bluff lettuce, a small succulent plant with red-edged green leaves grows from a crack in a rocky cliff near the coast, surrounded by pale gray stone.

Bluff Lettuce

Clusters of brown sea palm algae with tall, palm-like fronds stand upright on wave-swept rocky shoreline, their stems anchored tightly to the rock.

Brown Sea Palm

Long strands of bull kelp with thick stems and tangled golden-brown blades lie washed up on a rocky shoreline beside crashing ocean waves and offshore rocks.

Bull Kelp

Blackberries on the vine

California Blackberry

California Poppy on Granite Point, close up

California Poppy

Checkerblooms blooming

Checkerbloom

A coast live oak with thick, twisting branches arching over a sunlit trail, surrounded by dense green understory vegetation.

Coast Live Oak

Coastal Gum Plant with signature white 'gum' in the flower buds

Coastal Gum Plant

A dense cluster of coastal sagebrush with thin, gray-green leaves and tall, slender stems grows in bright sunlight along a dry coastal hillside.

Coastal Sagebrush

Coyote Brush

Coyote Brush

A Douglas iris with purple and white petals blooming against a blurred green background.

Douglas Iris

Close-up view of feather boa kelp draped across coastal rocks, showing long, dark brown fronds with many small blades lining each side.

Feather Boa Kelp

Dense floating mass of giant kelp fronds drifting at the ocean surface, showing long brown blades and interwoven strands.

Giant Kelp

Strands of pale green lace lichen hanging from the branches of a tree, draping down like delicate, tangled ribbons among glossy green leaves.

Lace Lichen

Close-up photo of a lizard tail plant, showing its thick, green, forked leaves resembling an upside-down lizard body.

Lizard Tail

Miner's Lettuce

Miner's Lettuce

Miniature Suncups in bloom

Miniature Suncup

Photo of Monterey Cypress trees growing out of a rocky cliff on the North Shore Trail at Point Lobos.

Monterey Cypress

A forest of tall Monterey pine trees with gray-brown, fissured bark, standing among green understory plants and dry golden groundcover on a foggy day in the Point Lobos State Natural Reserve..

Monterey Pine

Vibrant seed pods of the Nuttall's Loco Weed on Granite Point

Nuttall's Locoweed

Poison Oak leaves, green and red, growing as a vine

Poison Oak

Close-up view of rock weed, a brown intertidal algae with flat, branching fronds and small, air-filled bladders, attached to coastal rocks.

Rock Weed

Sagewort

Sagewort (Sand Hill Sage)

Bright green sea lettuce algae growing in shallow intertidal pools among rocks, with sunlight reflecting off the water.

Sea Lettuce

Sea Thrift blooming on the Coal Chute trail

Sea Thrift (Sea Pink)

Seaside daisies carpeting Coal Chute Point

Seaside Daisy

A cluster of bright red-orange seaside painted cup plants growing among green coastal vegetation, with fuzzy green leaves and colorful bracts.

Seaside Painted Cup

Sky Lupine

Sky Lupine

Close-up of a bright yellow Sticky Monkeyflower bloom on a green shrub, showing its tubular petals and surrounding leaves in natural sunlight.

Sticky Monkeyflower

A dense mat of long, bright green blades of surf grass grows among brown and red seaweed in the shallow intertidal zone, with water flowing gently over the plants.

Surf Grass

California Manroot (Wild Cucumber) blooming on the trail

Wild Cucumber (Manroot)

Close-up of a wood mint plant with small purple tubular flowers and fuzzy green leaves growing in a shaded woodland area in Point Lobos State Natural Reserve..

Wood Mint