Downingia pusilla

Dwarf downingia, Dwarf Downingia

Family: Campanulaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.2

Dwarf downingia is a rare (CNPS 2B.2) California native annual found in southern North Coast Ranges, North Coast interior, Sacramento Valley, northern and central San Joaquin Valley, and northern San Francisco Bay in vernal pools and roadside ditches at elevations to 150 meters. Flowering from March to May, this delicate plant produces white or blue flowers 2.5 to 4 millimeters long with distinctive yellow spots near the throat. Growing with slender stems reaching just a few centimeters tall, it forms small, compact clusters in seasonal wet areas. Its tiny leaves are narrow and understated, complementing the diminutive flower structure with its triangular lobes. The fruit develops 15 to 27 millimeters long with tough lateral walls, bearing seeds with distinctive spiral lines that appear twisted.

Habitat: Vernal pools, roadside ditches

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: < +- 150 m (488 m, NCoRI)

Bioregions: s NCoRO, NCoRI, ScV, n&ampc SnJV, n SnFrB

California counties: Solano, Napa, Stanislaus, Fresno, Sonoma, Tehama, Sacramento, Merced, Yuba, San Joaquin, Calaveras, Placer

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