Navarretia leucocephala

Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: annual · Native

White-flowered navarretia is a California native annual herb found in varied bioregions in open grasslands, meadows, and vernal pool habitats at moderate elevations. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces delicate white flowers in small, compact clusters with distinctive needle-like bracts. Growing with erect to prostrate stems 3 to 15 centimeters tall, it has intricate branching with ascending or spreading growth habit. Its leaves are finely divided with linear lobes, lower leaves smooth and upper leaves slightly hairy at the base, creating a delicate, lace-like foliage structure. The plant's translucent fruits uniquely dehisce when moistened, a fascinating adaptation to its likely seasonal wetland environments.

California counties: Yuba, Yolo, Sutter, Sacramento, Placer, Solano, Lake, Shasta, Butte, Lassen, Plumas, Stanislaus, Glenn, Tehama, San Joaquin, Mendocino, Siskiyou, Merced, Alameda, Madera, San Benito, Calaveras, Amador, El Dorado, Humboldt, Nevada, Mariposa, Tuolumne

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