Myosurus apetalus var. montanus

Bristly mousetail

Family: Ranunculaceae · Type: annual · Native

Bristly mousetail is a native annual found in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, southern Sierra Nevada, and Modoc Plateau in wet meadows, bogs, and lake shores at elevations of 1,500 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from May to July, this delicate plant produces tiny, understated flowers with narrow scarious-margined sepals. Growing with slender, thread-like stems reaching just a few centimeters tall, it forms compact, low-growing clusters in moist environments. Its small leaves are narrow and sparse, typically emerging near the base of the plant in a minimalist rosette. The fruit develops into an elongated aggregate structure measuring 11 to 26 millimeters long, with a distinctively narrow rhombic outer surface.

Habitat: Wet meadows, bogs, lake shores

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 1500-2500 m

Bioregions: SNH, SnBr, MP

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