Lewisia leeana
Quill-leaved lewisia
Family: Montiaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Quill-leaved lewisia is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern coastal regions, Cascade Range, and central Sierra Nevada Mountains in granite, serpentine, and rocky conifer forest habitats at elevations of 1,300 to 3,350 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces white, pink, purple, or magenta flowers in rounded, open clusters well-raised above its dense leaf rosette. Growing with slender stems 8 to 24 centimeters tall, it forms compact clusters of narrow, cylindrical leaves. Its leaves are densely packed, 1.5 to 6 centimeters long, appearing almost quill-like with blunt tips and a fleshy, linear shape. The delicate flowers feature 6 to 8 petals approximately 5 to 6.5 millimeters long, emerging from among lanceolate bracts.
Habitat: Granite, serpentine cliffs, rocky slopes, conifer forest
Bloom period: Jun-Aug
Elevation: 1300-3350 m
Bioregions: KR, NCoRH, CaR, c&s SNH
California counties: Fresno, Siskiyou, Trinity, Del Norte, Humboldt, Shasta
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.