Chorizanthe pungens

Monterey spineflower

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Monterey spineflower is a California native perennial found in coastal regions in sandy maritime habitats at low elevations. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces white to rose-colored flowers with delicate pink or purple scarious margins in small dense clusters. Growing as a mat-forming to slightly erect plant 5 to 25 centimeters in diameter, it spreads with prostrate to ascending branches from a short central stem. Its leaves are predominantly basal, with oblanceolate blades 5 to 50 millimeters long and 3 to 7 millimeters wide, creating a low, intricate ground-hugging form. The distinctive involucre is three-angled with six ribs, featuring hooked awns 1 to 3 millimeters long that contribute to its unique spiny appearance.

California counties: Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Mendocino

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