Nemacladus secundiflorus var. robbinsii

Robbins' nemacladus

Family: Campanulaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Robbins' nemacladus is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native annual found in southern Sierra Nevada, south Coast Ranges, and Western Transverse Ranges on dry, gravelly slopes at elevations of 350 to 1,700 meters. Flowering from April to May, this delicate plant produces pale lavender or white flowers with distinctive spreading and reflexed corolla lobes. Growing with slender stems and tiny elliptic leaves just 2 to 3 millimeters long, it forms loosely one-sided inflorescences with small lance-ovate bracts. Its minute flowers feature narrow triangular sepals and a diminutive cylindric corolla tube, with petals measuring less than half a millimeter long. The plant's intricate, small-scale architecture makes it a subtle but remarkable component of its dry, rocky habitat.

Habitat: Dry, gravelly slopes

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: 350-1700 m

Bioregions: s SNH, SCoRI, WTR.

California counties: San Luis Obispo, San Benito, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Monterey, Kern, Los Angeles

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