Cestrum elegans

Purple cestrum

Family: Solanaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Purple cestrum is a naturalized shrub found in northern coastal California, San Francisco Bay Area, and potentially other regions in disturbed areas at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from February to August, this plant produces bright red to pink-purple tubular flowers 15 to 25 millimeters long in compact clusters of 5 to 10 blooms. Growing as a shrub up to 3 meters tall with soft, dense hairs particularly noticeable on its stems and branches, often appearing purple-tinged. Its leaves are relatively large, approximately 4 to 13 centimeters long, ovate in shape with sharp pointed tips. The fruit is bright red, approximately 15 millimeters long with a white spongy interior containing about 10 dark brown seeds.

Habitat: Disturbed areas

Bloom period: Feb-Aug

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: n NCo, SnFrB, expected elsewhere

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