Chloropyron maritimum subsp. canescens

Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: annual · Native

Salt marsh owl's clover is a California native annual herb found in the Great Basin and northern Mojave Desert regions in inland alkaline flats at elevations of 600 to 1,900 meters. Flowering from June to September, this plant produces delicate white or pale flowers in dense, compact inflorescences. Growing with many slender branches that are mostly erect, reaching 15 to 30 centimeters tall, it forms a distinctive branching structure with a central spike. Its leaves are narrow and linear, positioned along the stems to support the dense flowering clusters. The small seeds, numbering 25 to 40 per plant, are compact and measure 1 to 1.5 millimeters long.

Habitat: Inland alkaline flats

Bloom period: Jun-Sep

Elevation: 600-1900 m

Bioregions: GB, n DMoj

California counties: Mono, Inyo, Lassen

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