Monardella undulata subsp. crispa

Crisp monardella, Crisp Monardella

Family: Lamiaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Crisp monardella is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native shrub found in southern Central Coast regions of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties in active coastal dunes at elevations below 100 meters. Flowering from April to November, this plant produces rose-purple flowers in dense terminal clusters 15 to 30 millimeters wide, with soft, straw-colored or purple bracts. Growing as a tufted or mounded subshrub up to 2.5 meters wide, it has densely white-tomentose stems with wavy hairs that are 10 to 50 centimeters long. Its fleshy, wavy-edged leaves are oblanceolate to obovate, 10 to 40 millimeters long, appearing glaucous and sparsely to densely covered in white tomentose hairs. The flower clusters are generally subtended by leaves, creating a distinctive, undulating appearance in coastal dune habitats.

Habitat: Active dunes

Bloom period: Apr-Nov

Elevation: < 100 m

Bioregions: s CCo (San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara cos.).

California counties: San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara

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