Oreocarya roosiorum

Bristlecone oreocarya

Family: Boraginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Bristlecone oreocarya is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native perennial found in the southern White and Inyo Mountains in rocky, dry meadows within open bristlecone pine-limber pine forest at elevations of 2,570 to 3,230 meters. Flowering from June to July, this plant produces pale yellow flowers with delicate white appendages in dense, head-like clusters. Growing with multiple spreading stems 1 to 3 centimeters tall that are soft and bristly, it forms numerous basal rosettes with distinctive gray-green leaves. Its leaves are oblanceolate to narrow spoon-shaped, densely covered in silky hairs with mostly appressed bristles that have bulbous bases. The fruit consists of 1 to 3 shiny dark gray nutlets, each 2 to 2.5 millimeters long with sharp-angled margins.

Habitat: Rocky, dry meadows in open bristlecone pine-limber pine forest

Bloom period: Jun-Jul

Elevation: 2570-3230 m

Bioregions: s W&ampI (n Inyo Mtns).

California counties: Inyo

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