Navarretia prostrata

Prostrate vernal pool navarretia, Prostrate Vernal Pool Navarretia

Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Prostrate vernal pool navarretia is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native annual found in western San Joaquin Valley, central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, and southern California coastal regions, including vernal pools and alkaline floodplains at elevations below 700 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces blue to white flowers in delicate, clustered heads with distinctive linear petals less than one millimeter wide. Growing as a low-spreading plant with prostrate stems that are sparsely covered in recurved hairs, it forms intricate branching patterns with multiple secondary axes. Its leaves are clustered just below the flower heads, featuring 1 to 2-pinnate lobes with linear segments that are subglabrous and sparsely gland-dotted. The plant's unique translucent fruit is particularly notable for its ability to dehisce when wetted, a characteristic adaptation to its seasonal wetland habitat.

Habitat: Alkaline floodplains, vernal pools

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: < 700 m

Bioregions: w SnJV (Merced Co.), CCo (w Alameda Co.), SnFrB (Alameda Co.), SCoR, c SCo (Los Angeles Co.), PR (Santa Rosa Plateau).

California counties: San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, Monterey, Alameda, Merced, Riverside, San Bernardino, Sonoma, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Amador, Butte

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