Castilleja campestris subsp. succulenta

Succulent owl's-clover, Succulent Owl's-Clover

Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2 · Threatened

Succulent owl's-clover is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native annual found in southern Sierra Nevada Foothills, southeastern Sacramento Valley, and eastern San Joaquin Valley in vernal pools and moist places at elevations below 750 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces yellow to orange flowers in dense inflorescences where the bracts prominently extend beyond the flower petals. Growing with delicate stems up to 30 centimeters tall, it has a slender and somewhat fragile appearance. Its leaves are distinctively thick and lanceolate, with a brittle texture that gives the plant its succulent characteristic. In favorable conditions, this distinctive vernal pool annual creates stunning displays of golden-orange blooms across seasonal wetland landscapes.

Habitat: Vernal pools, moist places

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: < 750 m

Bioregions: s SNF, se ScV, e SnJV.

California counties: Solano, Fresno, Madera, Merced, Stanislaus

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