Gayophytum diffusum subsp. parviflorum

Family: Onagraceae · Type: annual · Native

Spreading barrier nailseed is a California native annual found in northwestern California, the Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, and Great Basin in open montane forest and sagebrush scrub at elevations of 800 to 3,700 meters. Flowering from May to September, this delicate plant produces tiny white to pale pink flowers with petals 1.2 to 3 millimeters long. Growing with diffuse, branching stems that spread widely across the ground, it forms an open, wandering habit. Its leaves are small and deeply divided, creating a feathery, light green appearance across the landscape. The fruit contains seeds occasionally arranged in two overlapping rows within each chamber, contributing to its unique reproductive strategy.

Habitat: Common. Open montane forest, sagebrush scrub

Bloom period: May-Sep

Elevation: 800-3700 m

Bioregions: NW, CaR, SN, TR, PR, GB.

California counties: El Dorado, Los Angeles, Kern, Tuolumne, Mono, San Bernardino, Riverside, Alpine, Tulare, Siskiyou, San Diego, Orange, Trinity, Modoc, Nevada, Fresno, Inyo, Lassen, Plumas, Humboldt, Ventura, Tehama, Placer, Madera, Santa Barbara, Sierra, Butte, Mendocino, Amador, Mariposa, Calaveras, Glenn, Shasta, Colusa, Lake, Del Norte

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