Brodiaea nana

Dwarf brodiaea

Family: Themidaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Dwarf brodiaea is a California native perennial found in southern California Range Front, northern Sierra Nevada Foothills, eastern Sacramento Valley, and northeastern San Joaquin Valley in vernal swales, pools, and shallow soil over bedrock at elevations of 10 to 410 meters. Flowering from April to May, this plant produces violet flowers with spreading perianth lobes 10.5 to 18 millimeters long, creating an elegant urn-shaped bloom. Growing with a slender scape 2 to 10 centimeters tall, it emerges delicately from the ground. Its flowers feature distinctive white staminodes with notched tips and narrow-winged filaments, creating an intricate floral structure. The plant's compact form and specialized habitat make it a unique component of California's seasonal wetland ecosystems.

Habitat: Vernal swales, pools, shallow soil over bedrock

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: 10-410 m

Bioregions: s CaRF, n&ampc SNF, e ScV, ne SnJV.

California counties: Butte, Sacramento, Shasta, Tehama, Amador, Calaveras, Kern, San Joaquin, Merced, Stanislaus, El Dorado, Placer, Yuba

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