Lastarriaea coriacea

Leather-spineflower

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: annual · Native

Leather-spineflower is a California native annual found in the Sierra Nevada, Great Valley, central western, and southwestern California regions in sandy or gravelly habitats at elevations below 800 meters. Flowering from February to June, this plant produces delicate white to pale flowers in small clusters with distinctive hooked bracts. Growing with hairy stems 2 to 15 centimeters tall and spreading 5 to 30 centimeters wide, it forms a low, compact structure. Its narrow leaves are small, measuring 5 to 30 millimeters long and only 0.2 to 0.8 millimeters wide, creating a fine, delicate appearance. The fruit is approximately 2.5 to 3 millimeters long with narrow perianth lobes.

Habitat: Common. Sand or gravel

Bloom period: Feb-Jun

Elevation: < 800 m

Bioregions: SN, GV, CW, SW

California counties: Monterey, Calaveras, Santa Barbara, Riverside, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Fresno, Contra Costa, Tulare, Kern, Madera, San Benito, Kings, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus, Lake, Merced, Orange

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