Aralia californica

Elk clover, Elk Clover

Family: Araliaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Elk clover is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, northern Sierra Nevada, northern Sierra Nevada foothills, San Francisco Bay Area, southern Coast Ranges, Transverse Ranges, and Peninsular Ranges in moist shaded canyons and stream sides at elevations up to 2,500 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces small white flowers in large branching clusters reaching 30 to 45 centimeters long. Growing with massive stout stems two to three meters tall, it develops large, impressive pinnate leaves up to two meters in length with 15 to 30 centimeter leaflets. Its leaves are complex, with multiple pinnate layers featuring ovate to oblong leaflets that are serrated and have slightly heart-shaped bases. The plant produces small spherical black fruits approximately five millimeters in diameter, characteristic of its distinctive woodland habitat.

Habitat: Moist shade, canyons, stream sides

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: < 2500 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoR, CaRH, n SN, SnFrB, SCoR, TR, PR

California counties: Humboldt, San Diego, Orange, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Mendocino, Monterey, Lake, Del Norte, Marin, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Trinity, Napa, Sierra, San Luis Obispo, Siskiyou, Shasta, San Mateo, Alameda, Nevada, Ventura, Tehama, El Dorado, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, Glenn, Amador, Yuba, Butte, Plumas, Solano, Colusa, Contra Costa, Tuolumne, Riverside, San Benito

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