Isoetes howellii

Howell's quillwort

Family: Isoetaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Howell's quillwort is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, Northern California Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada Foothills, northern Sierra Nevada, Central Valley, Central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, Southern Coast Ranges, Southern California, and Peninsular Ranges in vernal pools and lake margins at elevations generally below 1,500 meters. As a distinctive aquatic plant, it produces bright green leaves that become terrestrial as they mature. Growing with rigid, deciduous leaves less than 30 centimeters long, the plant has a characteristic appearance with leaves that taper to a point and have a base ranging from brown to black. Its leaves are notably stiff and bright green, creating a distinctive quill-like structure in wet habitats. The sporangia membrane partially covers the reproductive structures, with male spores measuring 0.025 to 0.035 millimeters and female spores ranging from 0.3 to 0.5 millimeters with a ridged texture.

Habitat: Vernal pools, lake margins

Elevation: generally < 1500(2900) m

Bioregions: KR, NCoR, CaR, SNF, n SNH, GV, CCo, SnFrB, SCoR, SCo, PR

California counties: San Luis Obispo, San Diego, Riverside, Santa Clara, Sonoma, Shasta, Tehama, San Mateo, Siskiyou, Plumas, Tuolumne, Ventura, Butte, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Merced, Modoc, Monterey, Placer, San Bernardino, Madera, Sutter, San Benito, Trinity, Amador, Napa, Mendocino, Sacramento, Sierra, Lassen, Contra Costa, Stanislaus, Santa Barbara, Calaveras, Solano, Mariposa

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