Yerba santa (“holy herb”) is a hairy perennial shrub that‘s found in chaparral and coastal sage scrub, most often at higher elevations. The very aromatic leaves are lance-ovate to oval, 5 to 15 cm (2 to 6 inches) long, with a scalloped margin. Soft woolly hairs grow on both sides. In traditional medicine, it has been used to treat respiratory infections. I don’t often hike in the highest parts of the Santa Monica Mountains, so it was a treat to get up there and encounter this plant growing in profusion along the trail yesterday.