Hydrophyllum fendleri var. albifrons

White waterleaf, White Waterleaf

Family: Hydrophyllaceae · Type: perennial · Native

White waterleaf is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges on moist, shady, wooded slopes at elevations of 1,100 to 2,000 meters. Flowering from May to September, this plant produces white to purple flowers in open spherical cymes that rise above the foliage. Growing 20 to 50 centimeters tall with ascending or erect stems, it develops from a short to long rhizome that appears overlapping and scaly from persistent leaf bases. Its leaves are pinnately lobed with 7 to 13 toothed or divided segments, the early leaves smaller and more compact while later leaves become larger and more broadly divided, with dense short hairs covering both leaf surfaces. The plant produces a distinctive fruit approximately 3 to 5 millimeters in diameter, containing 1 to 3 light or dark brown seeds.

Habitat: Moist, shady, wooded slopes

Bloom period: May-Sep

Elevation: [300]1100-2000 m

Bioregions: KR

California counties: Siskiyou, Humboldt, Trinity

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