Atriplex coronata var. vallicola

Lost hills crownscale, Lost Hills Crownscale

Family: Chenopodiaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Lost hills crownscale is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native annual found in the San Joaquin Valley in dried ponds and alkaline soils at elevations below 430 meters. Flowering from April to September, this plant produces small, whitish to pale green flowers in compressed bracts 2.5 to 4 millimeters wide. Growing with ascending to erect branches, it develops a delicate, open structure typical of desert-adapted annual plants. Its leaves and bracts have a subtle texture, with bracts that become slightly spherical in fruit and can be finely toothed or smooth. Dark brown seeds, approximately 1 to 1.5 millimeters long, mature within the distinctive compressed bracts.

Habitat: Dried ponds, alkaline soils

Bloom period: Apr-Sep

Elevation: < 430 m

Bioregions: SnJV.

California counties: Kern, San Luis Obispo, Fresno, Kings, Santa Cruz, San Joaquin, Tulare, Merced, Alameda

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