Brandegea bigelovii

Brandegea

Family: Cucurbitaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Brandegea is a California native perennial found in southern desert bioregions in canyon, wash, and sandy slope habitats at elevations below 900 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces cream-colored flowers in small, delicate clusters with rotate or cup-shaped corollas. Growing with taprooted stems that are nearly smooth and feature an unbranched tendril, it develops distinctive vine-like characteristics. Its leaves are notably unusual, generally round to heart-shaped or nearly square, with deeply lobed surfaces marked by white glands and a terminal lobe that is typically the longest. The plant produces small dry fruits about 5 to 6 millimeters long with an asymmetric, slightly prickly body.

Habitat: Canyons, washes, flats, sandy slopes

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: < 900 m

Bioregions: D

California counties: Riverside, San Bernardino, Imperial, San Diego

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