Lithophragma bolanderi

Bolander's woodland star

Family: Saxifragaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Bolander's woodland star is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, southern Sacramento Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, Transverse Ranges, and southern Great Basin in open slopes, riparian areas, and woodlands at elevations up to 2,000 meters. Flowering from February to July, this plant produces delicate white flowers 4 to 7 millimeters long with ovate-elliptic petals, sometimes featuring subtle tooth-like lobes. Growing 20 to 80 centimeters tall with an upright habit, it develops slender stems supporting clusters of 5 to 25 flowers. Its basal leaves are distinctively lobed, typically divided into 3 to 5 segments with rounded teeth, creating an intricate architectural pattern. The plant's seeds are characterized by a spiny texture, adding an interesting defensive feature to its reproductive strategy.

Habitat: Open slopes, riparian, woodland

Bloom period: Feb-Jul

Elevation: < 2000(3000) m

Bioregions: KR, NCoRO, NCoRI, CaR, SN, s ScV (Sutter Buttes, rare elsewhere), n SnJV, SnFrB, WTR, SnGb.

California counties: Kern, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Contra Costa, Butte, Placer, Tulare, Madera, Fresno, Yuba, Mendocino, Stanislaus, Mariposa, Calaveras, Sutter, Plumas, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Tuolumne, Riverside, Ventura, Monterey, El Dorado, Amador, Glenn, Humboldt, Sacramento, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Shasta, Napa, Sonoma, Nevada, Lake, Tehama, Colusa, Solano, Trinity, Yolo

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