Brodiaea appendiculata
Appendage brodiaea
Family: Themidaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Appendage brodiaea is a California native perennial found in northern and central Sierra Nevada foothills, eastern Great Valley, and historically in northern Coast Ranges and San Francisco Bay Area in grasslands and open woodlands at elevations of 8 to 335 meters. Flowering from April to May, this plant produces striking violet flowers with recurved tips, the outer perianth lobes 4.5 to 10.5 millimeters wide and inner lobes 6.5 to 10.5 millimeters wide. Growing with a slender scape 10 to 45 centimeters tall, it features distinctive white staminodes that lean toward the stamens with wavy, partially inrolled margins. Its flowers have unique thread-like forked appendages at the anther bases and a translucent cylindric perianth tube that splits open in fruit. The plant emerges from gravelly clay soils, creating delicate violet blooms that stand out in spring grassland landscapes.
Habitat: Grassland, open woodland, gravelly clay soil
Bloom period: Apr-May
Elevation: 8-335 m
Bioregions: n&c SNF, e GV, historically in NCoRO, SnFrB.
California counties: Amador, Merced, San Joaquin, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Sacramento, Stanislaus, San Francisco, Placer, Madera, Napa, Calaveras, San Mateo, Sutter, Sonoma, Santa Clara, Yuba, Fresno
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.