Caulanthus inflatus

Desert candle

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: annual · Native

Desert candle is a California native annual found in southern Sierra Nevada foothills, western Central Valley edges, Santa Cruz Mountains, northern Transverse Ranges, and southwestern Mojave Desert in open, sandy soil at elevations of 150 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces purple flowers with wavy petal margins approximately 9 to 14 millimeters long. Growing 1.5 to 9.7 decimeters tall with an unusual inflated stem that is glaucous and either simple or occasionally branched, it develops distinctive erect stems. Its leaves range from basal rosette forms 2 to 18 centimeters long and obovate to oblanceolate to cauline leaves that are sessile, strongly lobed, and clasping at the base. The ascending fruit is cylindric, measuring 3.5 to 12.7 centimeters long with a tiny style and strongly two-lobed stigma.

Habitat: Open, sandy soil; Mojave Desert plains and north facing slopes, south facing slopes elsewhere

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 150-1500 m

Bioregions: s SNF (Kern Co.), w edge c&amps SnJV, SCoRI, n WTR, sw DMoj (common).

California counties: Kern, San Bernardino, Lassen, Fresno, Inyo, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Benito, Merced, Kings

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