Atriplex flavida

Carrizo plain crownscale

Family: Chenopodiaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Carrizo plain crownscale is a rare (CNPS 1B.3) California native annual found in the southern California coastal ranges and adjacent valleys in alkaline clay soils at elevations of 585 to 600 meters. Flowering from March to July, this plant produces yellowish-green flowers in small axillary clusters with mixed staminate and pistillate blooms. Growing to less than 40 centimeters tall with prostrate to erect stems that are initially scaly and becoming glabrous, the plant has a distinctive spreading growth habit. Its alternate leaves are sessile, elliptic to ovate, 3 to 14 millimeters long, densely covered in yellowish scales with tapered to rounded bases and acute tips. The fruit bracts are rhombic-obovate, 2.8 to 3.8 millimeters long, with irregularly toothed margins and variable surface texture.

Habitat: Alkaline clay soils

Bloom period: Mar-Jul

Elevation: 585-600 m

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