Narthecium californicum

California bog asphodel

Family: Nartheciaceae · Type: perennial · Native

California bog asphodel is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, high Cascade Range, and northern and central Sierra Nevada Mountains in wet meadows and along streambanks at elevations of 700 to 2,600 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces golden-yellow flowers in slender, upright inflorescences 8 to 15 centimeters long. Growing with erect stems 20 to 60 centimeters tall, it forms distinctive basal leaf clusters emerging from the ground. Its long, grass-like basal leaves extend 10 to 30 centimeters, creating a delicate architectural structure in wet mountain habitats. The fruit is lance-shaped, approximately twice the length of its perianth, bearing distinctive seed heads with bristle-tipped seeds 6 to 9 millimeters long.

Habitat: Wet meadows, streambanks

Bloom period: Jul-Aug

Elevation: 700-2600 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoRO, CaRH, n&ampc SNH.

California counties: Mendocino, Fresno, Del Norte, Siskiyou, Plumas, Trinity, Tulare, Humboldt, El Dorado, Lassen, Butte, San Bernardino, Mariposa, Shasta, Sierra, Nevada, Tuolumne, Inyo

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