Hoita macrostachya

California hemp

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

California hemp is a native perennial found in the California Floristic Province in streamsides, marshes, and spring-moist places at elevations below 2,500 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces small flowers in elongated clusters 5 to 15 centimeters long. Growing to nearly 2 meters tall with much-branched, generally striate stems that have a hollow base, it forms an expansive and robust herbaceous presence. Its compound leaves have lanceolate leaflets 2 to 10 centimeters long, which are glandular and may be hairy on both surfaces. The fruit is brown with prominent veins, measuring 6 to 8 millimeters in length.

Habitat: Streamsides, marshes, spring-moist places

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: < 2500 m

Bioregions: CA-FP

California counties: San Diego, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Tuolumne, Riverside, San Bernardino, Tulare, Napa, Butte, Sonoma, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Clara, Amador, Mariposa, Fresno, Marin, Lake, Solano, Santa Cruz, San Joaquin, Nevada, Alameda, El Dorado, Yolo, Madera, Mendocino, Contra Costa, Santa Barbara, Calaveras, Stanislaus, Shasta, Placer, Alpine, Yuba, Sacramento, Merced, Colusa

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