Monardella leucocephala

Merced monardella

Family: Lamiaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1A

Merced monardella is a rare (CNPS 1A) California native annual found in northern San Joaquin Valley grasslands and interior sand dunes of Stanislaus and Merced counties at elevations of 50 to 100 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces white flowers in compact clusters 10 to 15 millimeters wide with distinctive white bracts and white flower lobes. Growing with gray-green stems 15 to 26 centimeters tall and branched throughout, it has a strongly scented herbage. Its leaves are hairy, lanceolate to oblong, 10 to 35 millimeters long and 4 to 7 millimeters wide with obscure lateral veins. The plant's white flower clusters are notable for having scarious bracts with conspicuous main veins and short, broad corolla lobes.

Habitat: Sandy soil in grassland, interior sand dunes (Delhi sands)

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 50-100 m

Bioregions: n SnJV (Stanislaus, Merced cos.).

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