Hackelia cusickii

Cusick's stickseed

Family: Boraginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Cusick's stickseed is a California native perennial found in the Modoc Plateau in juniper woodlands at elevations of 1,300 to 1,950 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces blue flowers in small, open clusters with corollas 7 to 13 millimeters in diameter. Growing with slender stems 10 to 50 centimeters tall that have strongly appressed hairs, it forms an upright, delicate structure. Its leaves are narrow and elliptic, with basal leaves 5 to 18 centimeters long and lower stem leaves 5 to 10 centimeters long, both covered in stiff, appressed hairs. The fruit consists of small nutlets with 8 to 15 abaxial prickles, each 3 to 4.5 millimeters long.

Habitat: Under junipers

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 1300-1950 m

Bioregions: MP

California counties: Modoc, Lassen, Siskiyou, Plumas

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