Hecastocleis shockleyi

Shockley's prickleleaf

Family: Asteraceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 3

Shockley's prickleleaf is a California native shrub found in the eastern Sierra Nevada and desert mountains on dry, rocky slopes at elevations of 1,000 to 2,200 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces flowers that emerge pink to red-purple in bud, opening to green-white with delicate linear lobes. Growing 4 to 7 decimeters tall with stiff, much-branched stems that are glandular-puberulent, it develops distinctive spine-tipped linear leaves that persist as sharp spines when dry. Its leaves are simple and alternate, with primary leaves 1 to 3 centimeters long, sparsely spiny-dentate, and clustered axillary leaves that are narrower and often obtuse. The plant forms dense, head-like clusters of small flowers surrounded by spiny-toothed, net-veined bracts, creating a unique and sculptural appearance in its arid mountain habitats.

Habitat: Dry, rocky slopes

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 1000-2200 m

Bioregions: SNE, DMtns

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