Monardella stebbinsii

Stebbins' monardella, Stebbins' Monardella

Family: Lamiaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Stebbins' monardella is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native shrub found in northern Sierra Nevada Mountains in rocky serpentine slopes at elevations of 800 to 1,100 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces pink flowers in dense clusters 8 to 20 millimeters wide with distinctive purple-tinged bracts. Growing as a low, matted subshrub less than 1 meter in diameter with dense felt-like hairs, it develops stems 15 to 40 centimeters tall. Its thick, narrowly ovate leaves are ash to dark gray with purple blotches, measuring 12 to 22 millimeters long and 5 to 12 millimeters wide. The plant's delicate pink flowers emerge from compact clusters with slender-stalked glandular bracts, creating a distinctive appearance on serpentine landscapes.

Habitat: Rocky serpentine slopes

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: 800-1100 m

Bioregions: n SNH (Serpentine Canyon, Plumas Co.).

California counties: Plumas, Calaveras

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