Lithospermum ruderale

Western stoneseed, Western Stoneseed

Family: Boraginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Western stoneseed is a California native perennial found in northern Sierra Nevada, Modoc Plateau, and high Cascade Range regions in open, dry slopes, sagebrush steppe, conifer forest, and chaparral at elevations of 1,200 to 1,800 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces pale- to green-yellow flowers approximately 9 to 12 millimeters long with salverform corollas. Growing with clustered stems 20 to 50 centimeters tall that are relatively unbranched and have spreading hairs, it develops a somewhat woody caudex. Its numerous crowded leaves are 3 to 8 centimeters long, ranging from lanceolate to linear in shape. The fruit consists of smooth, shiny white to pale brown nutlets 5 to 6 millimeters long with a wide-ovoid shape tapering to a stout tip.

Habitat: Open, dry slopes, plains, sagebrush steppe, conifer forest, chaparral

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: (750)1200-1800 m

Bioregions: CaRH, n SNH, MP

California counties: Modoc, Siskiyou, Lassen, Plumas, Nevada, Shasta, Placer, Sierra, El Dorado

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