Calyptridium umbellatum

Cistanthe

Family: Montiaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Cistanthe is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, and Great Basin in open, sandy to rocky soils, conifer forest, and alpine habitats at elevations of 240 to 4,300 meters. Flowering from May to October, this plant produces delicate white flowers in compact umbel clusters 1 to 7 centimeters wide. Growing with spreading to ascending stems less than 60 centimeters tall, it forms distinctive basal rosettes with multiple leaf clusters. Its basal leaves measure 1.5 to 7 centimeters long, arranged in rosettes with few to no stem leaves. The plant produces small white petals and has a short, thick underground caudex with a slender to thick taproot.

Habitat: Open, sandy to rocky soils, conifer forest, alpine

Bloom period: May-Oct

Elevation: 240-4300 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoRH, CaR, SN, GB

California counties: Tulare, Mariposa, San Bernardino, El Dorado, Kern, Tuolumne, Amador, Mono, Placer, Modoc, Inyo, Siskiyou, Nevada, Shasta, Plumas, Sierra, Trinity, Lassen, Butte, Tehama, Mendocino, Madera, Humboldt, Lake, Santa Cruz, Fresno, Del Norte, Alpine, Sonoma, Ventura, San Benito, Colusa

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