Funastrum hirtellum

Trailing townula, Trailing Townula

Family: Apocynaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Trailing townula is a California native perennial found in the southeastern desert region of California in hard desert pavement and washes at elevations of 150 to 1,200 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces white to green-white flowers with ring-shaped tissue at the base of delicate, spreading to erect lobes. Growing with slender stems covered in dense, short, erect hairs, it has a distinctively gray-green appearance. Its linear to narrow-lanceolate leaves are 10 to 36 millimeters long with obtuse bases, creating a subtle, elegant form. The plant typically produces two elongated fruits that often spread nearly 180 degrees apart, reaching 3.6 to 4.8 centimeters in length.

Habitat: Hard desert pavement, washes

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 150-1200 m

Bioregions: D

California counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial, Inyo

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