Boykinia occidentalis

Brook foam

Family: Saxifragaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Brook foam is a California native perennial found in northwestern California, the northern Sierra Nevada, central coastal California, San Francisco Bay Area, northern southern Coast Ranges, and western Transverse Ranges including Santa Monica Mountains in shady wet banks at elevations below 1,500 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces white flowers in delicate, occasionally coiled inflorescences with petals 3 to 4 millimeters long. Growing 15 to 60 centimeters tall with erect stems, it has a distinctive branching structure with inflorescences that taper to their tips. Its leaves are 6 to 45 centimeters long, divided one-quarter to one-third of the way to the base, with round-sided lobes and teeth, and green stipules occasionally tipped with brown bristles. The plant forms compact clusters along wet, shaded banks with delicate white flower clusters and intricately structured foliage.

Habitat: Shady wet banks

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: < 1500 m

Bioregions: NW (exc NCoRH), CaRF, n SNH, CCo, SnFrB, n SCoRO, WTR (Santa Monica Mtns)

California counties: Humboldt, Sierra, Mendocino, Monterey, Yuba, Santa Cruz, Trinity, Plumas, Siskiyou, San Luis Obispo, Sonoma, Lake, Del Norte, Placer, Butte, Nevada, El Dorado, San Mateo, Marin, Santa Clara, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Amador, Colusa, Solano, Los Angeles, Calaveras, Napa, San Francisco, Glenn, Tehama

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