Limnanthes douglasii subsp. nivea

Family: Limnanthaceae · Type: annual · Native

Douglas's meadowfoam is a California native annual found in northern coastal, Sacramento Valley, San Francisco Bay, and southern coastal ranges, particularly in Butte County, in wet meadows, vernal pool edges, and ephemeral streams at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from March to May, this delicate plant produces pristine white flowers with subtle purple vein highlights and cream to yellow anthers. Growing in low, spreading clusters with fine, delicate stems, it forms soft ground-covering mats. Its leaves feature distinctive linear to ovate leaflets that may be entire or deeply lobed, creating intricate foliage patterns. When flowers fade, the petals dry to a pale yellow tone, adding subtle color variation to its ephemeral meadow habitat.

Habitat: Wet meadows, edges of vernal pools, ephemeral streams

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: NCoR, ScV (Butte Co.), SnFrB, SCoR.

California counties: Humboldt, San Luis Obispo, Lake, Sonoma, Santa Clara, San Benito, Monterey, Mendocino, Butte, Napa, Colusa, Glenn, Tehama, Merced, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Trinity, Contra Costa, Marin, Solano, Yolo

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