Fremontodendron decumbens

Pine hill flannelbush, Pine Hill Flannelbush

Family: Malvaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2 · Endangered

Pine hill flannelbush is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native shrub found in the northern Sierra Nevada Foothills in Pine Hill, western El Dorado County, growing on gabbro outcrops in chaparral and pine woodland at elevations of 425 to 760 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces large orange to coppery-red flowers 30 to 50 millimeters wide with silky hair margins. Growing as a low, spreading shrub less than 1 meter tall but much wider than its height, it has a distinctive decumbent form with multiple branching stems. Its leaves are palmate-lobed, 1.5 to 5.2 centimeters long, with a shallowly to deeply heart-shaped base and soft to leathery texture. The fruit remains closed unless triggered by fire, with dull brown seeds covered in stellate hairs.

Habitat: Gabbro outcrops in chaparral/pine woodland

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: 425-760 m

Bioregions: n SNF (Pine Hill, w El Dorado Co.).

California counties: El Dorado, Butte, Yuba, Nevada

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