Chorizanthe wheeleri

Wheeler's spineflower, Wheeler's Spineflower

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Wheeler's spineflower is a native perennial ranked 4.3 by CNPS, found on the northern Channel Islands including Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands in rocky and gravelly habitats at elevations below 400 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces delicate white to pink or purple flowers with six alternating lobes. Growing as a small, compact plant with erect stems reaching 0.5 to 2 centimeters tall, it forms few-branched clusters with spreading to ascending branches. Its basal leaves are tiny, measuring 0.5 to 2 millimeters long and 0.2 to 0.6 centimeters wide, with elliptic to oblong shapes and a soft, woolly texture on the undersides. The plant's distinctive involucre is three-angled with six ribs, featuring clusters of flowers with hooked awns measuring 0.3 to 0.5 millimeters long.

Habitat: Gravel to rocks

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: < 400 m

Bioregions: n ChI (Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa islands).

California counties: Santa Barbara, Riverside

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