Navarretia mitracarpa

Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: annual · Native

Navarretia mitracarpa is a California native annual herb found in southern Coast Ranges and southwestern California in open, grassy serpentine areas at elevations of 200 to 500 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces blue flowers with white throats 7 to 11 millimeters long, with delicate lobes 2 to 4 millimeters in length. Growing 3 to 20 centimeters tall with ascending stems that have spreading branches and white hairs, it develops a distinctive branching structure. Its lower leaves are 1 to 2-pinnately lobed with needle-like segments, while upper leaves are hairy underneath with toothed tips. The plant's intricate blue and white flowers and delicate, finely divided foliage make it a distinctive inhabitant of serpentine grasslands.

Habitat: Open, grassy, serpentine areas

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 200-500 m

Bioregions: SCoR, n SW.

California counties: Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Fresno, Monterey, Plumas, Santa Barbara, San Benito, Ventura, Kern, Tulare, Kings, Lake

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