Calyptridium roseum
Rosy calyptridium
Family: Montiaceae · Type: annual · Native
Rosy calyptridium is a California native annual found on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, northern Sierra Nevada, and White and Inyo Mountains in gravelly soils, conifer forest, and sagebrush scrub at elevations of 1,500 to 3,800 meters. Flowering from May to August, this delicate plant produces white petals in tiny, sparse clusters with slender pedicels. Growing with spreading to ascending stems 1.5 to 10 centimeters tall, it forms a low, compact plant with a slender or fibrous taproot. Its leaves are both basal and along the stem, measuring 0.5 to 4 centimeters long and typically persisting through fruiting. The small fruit contains 10 to 25 shiny seeds, each less than half a millimeter long with marginal papillae.
Habitat: Gravelly soils, conifer forest, sagebrush scrub
Bloom period: May-Aug
Elevation: 1500-3800 m
Bioregions: e slope SNH, n SNE, W&I
California counties: Tulare, Mono, Inyo, Lake
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.