Meconella californica

California fairypoppy

Family: Papaveraceae · Type: annual · Native

California fairypoppy is a native annual wildflower found in the northern Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada foothills, northern Coast, and San Francisco Bay Area in open, rocky areas at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from March to May, this delicate plant produces white to pale lavender flowers with petals 2 to 7 millimeters long and distinctive stamens arranged in two series. Growing with slender stems 3 to 20 centimeters tall, the plant has a graceful, compact form. Its leaves are small, measuring 3 to 25 millimeters long, providing a delicate backdrop to its subtle blooms. The plant produces elongated fruits 15 to 50 millimeters long, with tiny obovate seeds less than one millimeter in size.

Habitat: Open, rocky areas

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: CaRF, SNF, n CCo, SnFrB.

California counties: Kern, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Butte, Fresno, Mariposa, Tulare, Tuolumne, Madera, Stanislaus, San Francisco, El Dorado, Amador, Calaveras, Sacramento, Yuba, Marin, Sonoma, Nevada, Tehama, Contra Costa, Merced, Alameda, Placer, San Diego, Solano, Santa Barbara

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