Eryngium constancei

Loch lomond button-celery, Loch Lomond Button-Celery

Family: Apiaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1 · Endangered

Loch lomond button-celery is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native perennial found in the northern Coast Ranges in Lake County's vernal pools at elevations around 800 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces white flowers in small spheric heads 3 to 5 millimeters wide, clustered in delicate cymes. Growing with slender decumbent or ascending branches 20 to 30 centimeters tall, it emerges from a basal rosette with distinctively spiny stems. Its leaves feature slender petioles 8 to 12 centimeters long with smaller lanceolate blades 3 to 4 centimeters in length, characterized by spiny margins and sharp serrations. The fruit is a small obovate structure 1.6 to 2.2 millimeters long, covered with dense, unequal scabrous scales.

Habitat: Vernal pools

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: +- 800 m.

Bioregions: NCoR (Lake Co.).

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