Brodiaea minor

Small brodiaea, Small Brodiaea

Family: Themidaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Small brodiaea is a California native perennial found in southern California Ranges, northern Sierra Nevada, and northern Sacramento Valley in vernal pools, grasslands, meadows, and open foothill woodlands at elevations of 55 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces violet flowers with spreading perianth lobes 11 to 19 millimeters long in delicate inflorescences. Growing with slender scapes 10 to 25 centimeters tall, it emerges from underground corms with thin, elegant stems. Its flowers feature distinctive white staminodes with notched tips and inrolled margins, creating a complex and intricate floral structure. The plant produces an urn-shaped, tough perianth tube that remains intact throughout fruit development.

Habitat: Vernal pools, grassland, meadows, open foothill woodland, chaparral, occasionally serpentine or gabbro

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: 55-1500 m

Bioregions: s CaRF, n SN, n ScV

California counties: Placer, Butte, Calaveras, Yuba, Los Angeles, Shasta, Tehama, Plumas, Sacramento, Merced, Amador, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Nevada, Sierra, El Dorado, San Diego, Santa Clara, Ventura

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