Hosackia gracilis

Harlequin lotus

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.2

Harlequin lotus is a native perennial found in northern California coastal regions including North Coast, central Coast, and San Francisco Bay Area in water, springy areas, shores, meadows, and roadside ditches at elevations below 700 meters. Flowering from March to July, this plant produces distinctive yellow and pink-purple flowers that fade to white, with blossoms 10 to 16 millimeters long in clusters of 3 to 9. Growing with sprawling to ascending stems 10 to 50 centimeters tall, often with a spongy base and spreading through stolons or rhizomes. Its leaves feature 3 to 7 leaflets, each 6 to 20 millimeters long, arranged in an approximately opposite pattern with large, fragile triangular stipules. The fruit is an oblong pod 2 to 3 centimeters long, containing a few seeds.

Habitat: In water, springy areas, shores, meadows, roadside ditches

Bloom period: Mar-Jul

Elevation: < 700 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoRO, n CCo, SnFrB, n SCoRO

California counties: Sonoma, Marin, Mendocino, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Humboldt, San Mateo, San Luis Obispo, Del Norte, San Francisco, El Dorado

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