Chorizanthe breweri

Brewer's spineflower

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Brewer's spineflower is a rare (CNPS 1B.3) California native perennial found in southwestern San Luis Obispo County in gravelly or rocky habitats at elevations of 60 to 800 meters. Flowering from March to July, this plant produces delicate white to rose-colored flowers in small, open clusters with distinctive hooked awns. Growing as a low-mounded mat 5 to 15 centimeters tall with decumbent branches, it spreads to 1 to 5 meters in diameter. Its basal leaves are small and ovate, measuring 0.5 to 2 centimeters long with rounded or notched tips, and are thinly hairy. The plant forms intricate flat-topped clusters with six-lobed involucres and nine stamens fused to the perianth tube base.

Habitat: Gravel or rocks

Bloom period: Mar-Jul

Elevation: 60-800 m

Bioregions: SCoRO (sw San Luis Obispo Co.).

California counties: San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles

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