Acanthomintha lanceolata

Santa clara thornmint, Santa Clara thorn-mint, Santa Clara thorn-mint

Family: Lamiaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.2

Santa clara thornmint is a native annual found in the San Francisco Bay and south-central coastal ranges of California in woodland, chaparral, and rocky slopes at elevations below 1,200 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces white flowers occasionally pink-tipped, with lips 8 to 10 millimeters long nestled in glandular bracts with distinctive marginal spines. Growing with soft-hairy stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall that become conspicuously glandular toward the top, it has a distinctively ill-smelling character. Its lance-oblong to ovate leaves 10 to 20 millimeters long have margins that range from entire to serrate or spiny, with a notable glandular texture. The plant's delicate white flowers and spiny bracts make it a unique inhabitant of California's rocky and woodland landscapes.

Habitat: Woodland, chaparral, talus, rocky slopes, outcrops, occasionally serpentine

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: < 1200 m

Bioregions: SnFrB, SCoRI.

California counties: Alameda, Merced, Fresno, Monterey, Stanislaus, Santa Clara, San Benito, San Joaquin, Ventura

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.