Githopsis specularioides

Common bluecup

Family: Campanulaceae · Type: annual · Native

Common bluecup is a California native annual found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, Sacramento Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, and southern Coast Ranges in San Luis Obispo, Kern, and San Bernardino counties in chaparral and oak woodland at elevations of 60 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from April to May, this plant produces deep blue flowers 4.5 to 14 millimeters long, funnel-shaped with lobes slightly shorter than the flower tube. Growing with slender stems 2 to 40 centimeters tall, it can be either entirely glabrous or slightly hairy. Its leaves are small, measuring 4 to 20 millimeters long, with lanceolate to oblong bracts 3 to 12 millimeters in length. The plant's distinctive deep blue flowers and delicate structure make it a charming component of California's spring wildflower landscapes.

Habitat: Chaparral, oak woodland

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: 60-1500 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoR, CaR, SN, ScV, SnFrB, s SCoRI (San Luis Obispo, Kern cos.), e SCo (San Bernardino Co.)

California counties: Humboldt, Sonoma, Calaveras, Mariposa, Lake, Madera, Placer, El Dorado, Napa, Santa Clara, Butte, Monterey, Del Norte, Fresno, Siskiyou, Tuolumne, Trinity, Alameda, Kern, San Mateo, Modoc, Marin, San Benito, Sacramento, Tehama, Plumas, Sutter, Shasta, Glenn, Sierra, Colusa, Stanislaus, Santa Cruz, Contra Costa, Nevada, Mendocino, Tulare, Amador, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Yuba, Solano, San Bernardino, Riverside

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