Draba saxosa

Southern california rock draba, Southern California Rock Draba

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Southern california rock draba is a rare (CNPS 1B.3) California native perennial found in the eastern Peninsular Ranges, specifically the Santa Rosa Mountains, on rocky slopes at elevations of 2,400 to 3,300 meters. Flowering from June to July, this plant produces bright yellow flowers in compact clusters with petals 3 to 5 millimeters long. Growing as a tufted, compact herb with unbranched stems 5 to 15 centimeters tall, it features distinctive hairy stems with a mix of simple and multi-rayed hairs. Its leaves are oblanceolate, 1 to 3 centimeters long, with dense white hairs on the underside and typically without cauline leaves. The plant produces small oblong fruits 6 to 10 millimeters long, covered with short-stalked, multi-rayed hairs.

Habitat: Rocky slopes

Bloom period: Jun-Jul

Elevation: 2400-3300 m

Bioregions: e PR (SnJt, Santa Rosa Mtns).

California counties: Riverside

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