Monardella sinuata subsp. nigrescens

northern curly- leaved monardella

Family: Lamiaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Northern curly-leaved monardella is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native annual found in northern central Coast Ranges including Monterey County and San Francisco Bay Area in coastal dunes and scrub openings at elevations below 300 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces lavender to purple flowers in compact clusters 10 to 35 millimeters wide with distinctive dark-tipped bracts. Growing with stout dark red-brown stems 8 to 45 centimeters tall that are spreading-hairy on the uppermost sections, it forms a compact, highly branched structure. Its leaves are lanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate, 10 to 30 millimeters long with weakly wavy margins. The flower clusters feature dark-tipped, hairy bracts with conspicuously spreading hairs, especially along the veins.

Habitat: Dunes, openings in coastal scrub

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: < 300 m

Bioregions: n CCo (Monterey Co. and n), SnFrB.

California counties: Marin, San Francisco, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz

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