Monardella boydii

Boyd's monardella

Family: Lamiaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Boyd's monardella is a rare California native shrub ranked 1B.2 by CNPS, found in the southern central Mojave Desert Mountains, specifically in the Ord and Rodman Mountains, inhabiting desert scrub and juniper woodland at elevations of 1,400 to 1,650 meters. Flowering from August to October, this plant produces white flowers with purple markings, appearing lavender, in compact clusters 10 to 20 millimeters wide. Growing with erect, many-branched stems 12 to 40 centimeters tall that appear gray to silvery, it has a distinctive puberulent texture that highlights its delicate surface. Its narrow leaves are 7 to 15 millimeters long, gray-green or silvery-green, with an acute tip and a slender elliptic shape. The plant's flower clusters feature deciduous bracts that are green to purple-tinged, adding to its subtle and intricate visual character.

Habitat: Desert scrub, juniper woodland, on canyon bottoms and rocky slopes

Bloom period: Aug-Oct

Elevation: 1400-1650 m

Bioregions: s-c DMoj (Ord, Rodman mtns).

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