Hesperevax acaulis var. acaulis
Stemless evax, Stemless Evax
Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native
Stemless evax is a California native annual found in the Sierra Nevada Foothills, northern and eastern Great Valley, eastern San Francisco Bay Area, and southern Coast Ranges in grasslands, swales, moss turf, and chaparral at elevations of 30 to 900 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces tiny white flowers in compact heads 2.5 to 3 millimeters wide. Growing extremely small, typically 1 to 2 centimeters tall with virtually no stem or occasionally a short prostrate branch, it forms a delicate ground-hugging structure. Its leaves are oblanceolate, relatively narrow at 0.5 to 2 millimeters wide, with the largest leaves reaching 7 to 12 millimeters long and positioned somewhat erect toward the plant's tip. The plant's diminutive size and compact form allow it to thrive in tight, low-growing habitats like moss turf and grassland margins.
Habitat: Grassland, swales, moss turf, chaparral
Bloom period: Mar-May
Elevation: 30-900 m
Bioregions: SNF, n&e GV, e SnFrB, SCoRO
California counties: Tulare, Butte, Calaveras, Tehama, Colusa, Shasta, Amador, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Fresno, Madera, Santa Clara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, El Dorado, Stanislaus, Lake
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.