Eremocarya lepida

Mountain red-root

Family: Boraginaceae · Type: annual · Native

Mountain red-root is a California native annual found in southern Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi, Transverse, Peninsular, and northern Southeastern California ranges in mountain slopes, flats, valleys, and granite-based gravelly soils within conifer forest, chaparral, foothill woodland, and Joshua-tree woodland at elevations of 300 to 2,800 meters. Flowering from March to August, this plant produces yellow-centered flowers with prominent yellow appendages in small corolla clusters approximately 1.8 to 4 millimeters in diameter. Growing with a few erect branches from its base, the plant typically reaches 8 to 15 centimeters tall and is generally taller than wide. Its branches emerge from the base with an upright structure, creating a compact form across gravelly mountain habitats. The plant produces small, acuminate nutlets measuring 1.2 to 1.4 millimeters long, characteristic of its delicate mountain environment.

Habitat: Mountain slopes, flats, valleys, granite-based gravelly soils, generally conifer forest, also chaparral, foothill woodland, Joshua-tree woodland

Bloom period: Mar-Aug

Elevation: 300-2800 m

Bioregions: s SN, Teh, TR, PR, n SNE

California counties: San Bernardino, San Diego, Riverside, Los Angeles, Kern, Imperial

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