Oreocarya schoolcraftii

Schoolcraft's oreocarya

Family: Boraginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.2

Schoolcraft's oreocarya is a rare California native perennial ranked 2B.2 by CNPS, found in the eastern Modoc Plateau in Coppersmith Hills, Lassen County, growing on barren ash deposits and sagebrush scrub at elevations of 1,700 to 1,750 meters. Flowering from June to July, this plant produces small yellow-limbed flowers with delicate white appendages in dense, head-like clusters. Growing in compact clusters with multiple stems 6 to 25 centimeters tall, it develops grayish stems covered in spreading bristles and a non-woody, unbranched caudex. Its basal rosette leaves are thick, spoon-shaped, and densely covered in gray, appressed bristles with bulbous bases measuring 1.5 to 4 centimeters long. The plant produces 2 to 4 small, lanceolate nutlets that are grayish and slightly shiny, with rounded margins and smooth to slightly roughened surfaces.

Habitat: Barren ash deposits, sagebrush scrub

Bloom period: Jun-Jul

Elevation: 1700-1750 m

Bioregions: e MP (Coppersmith Hills, Lassen Co.)

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