New native garden at the Autry Museum shows California’s plant history

The Autry Museum’s new outdoor ethnobotanical garden will give visitors a chance to learn about the the state’s environmental history, as well as history with Native Americans.

Plant curator Nick Hummingbird sits in a seating area at the Autry Museum of the American West’s new outdoor ethnobotanical garden in Los Angeles.

Green leaves of a California native rose inside the Autry Museum of the American West.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times )

California fuschia blooms at Autry Museum of the American West.

Rocks and a pond are part of the Autry’s new outdoor ethnobotanical garden, which features some 60 native California plant species that will give visitors a chance to learn about the the state’s environmental history, as well as history with Native Americans.

Cahuilla tribe member and plant curator Nick Hummingbird holds an acorn from an oak tree at the Autry Museum of the American West.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times )

A pond with large photograph of the Devil’s Postpile as a backdrop at the Autry.

A bird rules the roost at the Autry Museum of the American West.

The Autry Museum of the American West’s new outdoor ethnobotanical garden features 60 or so native California plant species.

View from inside the Autry Museum of the American West of the new outdoor ethnobotanical garden.