Navarretia paradoxinota

Porter's navarretia

Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Porter's navarretia is a rare California native annual ranked 1B.3 by CNPS, found in the northern Coast Range Interior region including Lake, Napa, and Colusa counties in open, seasonally wet meadows and serpentine areas at elevations of 300 to 850 meters. Flowering from May to July, this delicate plant produces white flowers with narrow ovate lobes nestled among intricately pinnate-lobed bracts that are longer than the flowers themselves. Growing 8 to 30 centimeters tall with erect, narrow stems and ascending branches covered in reflexed white hairs, it has a distinctive appearance. Its leaves are 1 to 2 times pinnate-lobed with needle-like segments that spread out at the leaf tips, creating a delicate, feathery texture. The plant's translucent fruit chambers uniquely dehisce when wetted, revealing dark brown, pitted seeds.

Habitat: Open, seasonally wet areas, meadows, serpentine soils

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 300-850 m

Bioregions: NCoRI (Lake, Napa, Colusa cos.).

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