Aristocapsa insignis

Indian valley spineflower, Indian Valley spineflower, Indian Valley spineflower

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Indian valley spineflower is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native annual found in south-central coastal ranges of California in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, growing in sandy habitats at elevations of 300 to 600 meters. Flowering from May to June, this delicate plant produces white to pink or rose-colored flowers in small clusters with distinctive 5-toothed tubular involucres. Growing with erect glandular stems reaching 2 to 10 centimeters tall, it forms compact plants with minimal branching. Its basal leaves are small, glabrous, and narrow, measuring 5 to 15 millimeters long and 1 to 4 millimeters wide. The fruit is a light green-brown to tan obconic structure approximately 1.5 millimeters long, containing a curved embryo.

Habitat: Sand

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 300-600 m

Bioregions: SCoRI (Monterey, San Luis Obispo cos.).

California counties: San Luis Obispo, Monterey, 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.