Menodora scabra var. glabrescens
Broom tvinberry
Family: Oleaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Broom tvinberry is a California native perennial found in the eastern Peninsular Ranges, eastern Mojave Desert, and western Sonoran Desert in rocky or sandy desert scrub and woodland habitats at elevations of 700 to 2,400 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces small white to pale yellow flowers with distinctive five to seven calyx lobes. Growing with straight, erect stems 30 to 50 centimeters tall that are nearly smooth with slightly bristly leaf axils, it branches primarily in the flower cluster. Its leaves are distinctively linear to lance-linear, more than five times longer than wide and generally less than two-thirds the length of stem internodes. The plant appears sparse and delicate, with leaves becoming smaller as they approach the flower cluster.
Habitat: Rocky or sandy soils, desert scrub, woodland
Bloom period: May-Jun
Elevation: (400)700-2400 m
Bioregions: e PR, e&s DMoj, w DSon
California counties: San Bernardino, Imperial, Riverside, San Diego
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.