Downingia pulchella

Flatface calicoflower

Family: Campanulaceae · Type: annual · Native

Flatface calicoflower is a California native annual found in northern coastal regions, southern Tehama County, central and southern Sacramento Valley, San Joaquin Valley, central Coast, southern San Francisco Bay Area, and northern Santa Clara County in vernal pools and roadside ditches at elevations below 400 meters. Flowering from April to June, this delicate plant produces blue and white flowers with distinctive lower petals featuring deep blue lower lips with a central white area containing two ovate yellow spots and three purple spots. Growing with slender stems less than 30 centimeters tall, it forms low-spreading clusters in wet seasonal habitats. Its leaves are typically small and narrow, adapting to the ephemeral wetland environments where it thrives. The flower's complex color pattern of blue, white, yellow, and purple makes it a striking visual highlight in spring vernal pool landscapes.

Habitat: Vernal pools, roadside ditches

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: < 400 m (1300 m, s Teh)

Bioregions: NCoRI, s Teh, c&amps ScV, SnJV, CCo, s SnFrB, n SCoRI.

California counties: Alameda, Monterey, Contra Costa, San Benito, Solano, Kern, Lassen, Santa Clara, Ventura, Colusa, San Diego, Madera, Siskiyou, Yolo, Butte, Merced, Sacramento, El Dorado, Tulare, San Joaquin, Yuba, Napa, Mendocino

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