Mucronea perfoliata

Perfoliate spineflower

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: annual · Native

Perfoliate spineflower is a California native annual found in southern Sierra Nevada foothills, Tehachapi, San Joaquin Valley, southern Coast Ranges, northern Western Transverse Ranges, and western Mojave Desert in sandy or gravelly habitats at elevations of 100 to 1,600 meters. Flowering from March to July, this plant produces tiny white to pale pink flowers clustered in delicate, swollen involucres with four distinct angles. Growing with sprawling stems spreading up to 5 meters in diameter and reaching 20 to 30 centimeters tall, it forms a low, open mat-like structure. Its leaves are relatively broad, with blades 2 to 5 centimeters long and 3 to 12 millimeters wide, providing a distinctive perfoliate appearance. The fruit is small, measuring 2 to 3 millimeters in length, with nine stamens contributing to its intricate floral structure.

Habitat: Common. Sand or gravel

Bloom period: Mar-Jul

Elevation: 100-1600 m

Bioregions: s SNF, Teh, SnJV, SCoRI, n WTR, w DMoj.

California counties: Kern, San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Fresno, San Bernardino, San Benito, Ventura, Kings, Monterey, Stanislaus, Merced, Inyo, Riverside

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