Achlys californica

California deer foot

Family: Berberidaceae · Type: perennial · Native

California deer foot is a native perennial found in northern coastal California, western Klamath Ranges, and western North Coast Ranges in moist, shaded conifer forests at elevations below 1,500 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces small white flowers in delicate inflorescences less than 4 centimeters long. Growing with slender rhizomatous stems 30 to 50 centimeters tall, it spreads through underground stem segments with internodes 9 to 10 centimeters apart. Its leaves are deeply divided, creating a distinctive lacy green foliage that provides ground cover in forest understories. The fruit is small, measuring 3.5 to 5 millimeters in length.

Habitat: Moist, shaded sites, conifer forest

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: < 1500 m

Bioregions: NCo, w KR, w NCoRO

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