Downingia bella

Hoover's calicoflower

Family: Campanulaceae · Type: annual · Native

Hoover's calicoflower is a California native annual found in the Central Valley, Santa Rosa Plateau in Riverside County, and northern Western Transverse Ranges in vernal pools at elevations below 200 meters to 1,600 meters. Flowering from March to May, this delicate plant produces blue flowers with a distinctive lower lip featuring a central white area and yellow spots surrounded by alternating purple markings. Growing with slender stems to approximately 20 to 30 centimeters tall, it forms small clusters in seasonal wetland environments. Its leaves are narrow and elongated, typical of vernal pool wildflowers. The fruit develops 18 to 60 millimeters long with tough lateral walls that tardily release seeds with distinct longitudinal lines.

Habitat: Uncommon. Vernal pools

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: < 200 m (GV), 610-655 m (PR), 1400--1600 m (WTR)

Bioregions: GV, PR (Santa Rosa Plateau, Riverside Co.), n WTR.

California counties: Ventura, Lake, Tulare, Riverside, Solano, Stanislaus, Merced, Glenn, Butte, Colusa, Tehama, San Joaquin, Kings, Sierra, Alameda, Sacramento, Kern, San Diego, San Luis Obispo

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