Cleomella brevipes

Short-pedicelled cleomella, Short-Pedicelled Cleomella

Family: Cleomaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.2

Short-pedicelled cleomella is a California native annual herb ranked 4.2 by CNPS, found in southeastern and eastern desert mountain regions in alkaline marshes and salt-encrusted thermal spring soils at elevations of 400 to 2,100 meters. Flowering from May to October, this plant produces pale yellow flowers with small petals approximately 1.5 to 2 millimeters long, arising singly in leaf axils. Growing with glaucous stems 5 to 45 centimeters tall that are characteristically rough in texture, it develops a compact and sparse growth habit. Its leaves feature fleshy leaflets 5 to 15 millimeters long, ranging from linear to obovate in shape with very short petioles measuring 0.5 to 3 millimeters. The fruit develops as a small round capsule 2 to 3 millimeters wide with slightly conical valve structures.

Habitat: Alkaline marshes, wet, salt-encrusted soil around thermal springs

Bloom period: May-Oct

Elevation: 400-2100 m

Bioregions: SNE (exc W&ampI), DMoj (exc DMtns)

California counties: Inyo, Mono, San Bernardino, Kern

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