Native plants cope with the heat in various ways.
The fuzziness on dove weed's leaves limits water loss from transpiration as do the thick, glossy leaves of plants such as interior live oak. California buckeyes employ a strategy unique among the state's deciduous trees. To conserve water, they simply shed their leaves in late summer. A different scenario plays out along California's coast. Here summer's chilly fogs bathe plants in life-sustaining moisture, supplying north coast redwoods with up to 45 percent of total annual water needs.