Matthiola incana

Tenweeks stock

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Tenweeks stock is a naturalized perennial found in southern Northern Coast, Central Coast, and Southern Coast bioregions in sandy areas, beaches, and ocean bluffs at elevations below 300 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces fragrant flowers in shades of purple, violet, pink, and white, with petals 2 to 3 centimeters long and wide. Growing 2.5 to 6 meters tall with occasionally woody bases, it has an upright habit with multiple stems. Its leaves are linear to oblong, ranging from 4 to 16 centimeters long and 0.8 to 1.8 centimeters wide, with entire to wavy margins. The fruit is a long, flat pod 6 to 12 centimeters in length, with seeds nestled in distinctive chambers.

Habitat: Sandy areas, beaches, ocean bluffs

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: < 300 m

Bioregions: s NCo, CCo, SCo

California counties: Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Riverside, Monterey, San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Butte

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