Monardella palmeri

Palmer's monardella

Family: Lamiaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Palmer's monardella is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native shrub found in the northern Santa Lucia Range in chaparral and forest on serpentine at elevations of 200 to 800 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces red-purple flowers in compact clusters 25 to 35 millimeters wide with distinctive purple-tinged bracts. Growing as a tufted subshrub with decumbent stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall, it spreads through underground rhizomes. Its leathery leaves are lanceolate, 10 to 20 millimeters long, and range from entire to weakly serrate. The flower calyces are stiff-hairy with slender red-purple lobes, creating a distinctive appearance in its serpentine habitat.

Habitat: Chaparral, forest, on serpentine

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 200-800 m

Bioregions: n SCoRO (Santa Lucia Range).

California counties: San Luis Obispo, San Bernardino, Monterey

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