Cleomella obtusifolia

Mojave stinkweed, Mojave Stinkweed

Family: Cleomaceae · Type: annual · Native

Mojave stinkweed is a California native annual found in the Sonoran Desert and eastern Sierra Nevada in desert scrub and sandy, rocky alkaline flats at elevations below 1,800 meters. Flowering from April to October, this plant produces dark yellow flowers 4 to 6 millimeters long with hairy petals. Growing with rough stems that form rounded mats 10 to 90 centimeters tall, the plant transitions from ascending to prostrate as it matures. Its leaves feature 5 to 15 millimeter obovate leaflets arranged in a distinctive pattern, with younger stems bearing single flowers in leaf axils and older stems developing dense raceme clusters. The plant produces small hairy capsules 3 to 4 millimeters long with conic to horn-shaped valves.

Habitat: Desert scrub, sandy, rocky alkaline flats

Bloom period: Apr-Oct

Elevation: < 1800 m

Bioregions: SNE, D

California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, San Diego, Los Angeles, Mono, Kern, Imperial, Sacramento

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