Oxyria digyna

Alpine mountain sorrel

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Alpine mountain sorrel is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, high Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, San Bernardino Mountains, San Jacinto Mountains, Warner Mountains, and eastern Sierra Nevada in alpine rock crevices and talus at elevations of 1,800 to 4,000 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces small nodding flowers with outer perianth parts spreading 1.2 to 2.5 millimeters long. Growing with erect reddish stems 0.5 to 5 decimeters tall, it has a thick scaly caudex and fibrous roots. Its primarily basal leaves are fleshy and kidney-shaped, typically 0.5 to 6.5 centimeters wide with translucent fused stipules. The fruit is elliptic, flat, two-winged, and varies from red to pink with visible veining.

Habitat: Alpine rock crevices, talus

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: 1800-4000 m

Bioregions: KR, CaRH, SN, SnBr, SnJt, Wrn, SNE

California counties: Mono, Tuolumne, Fresno, San Bernardino, Trinity, Siskiyou, Nevada, Modoc, Tulare, Madera, Inyo, Riverside, El Dorado, Alpine, Amador, Placer, Shasta, Sierra, Mariposa, Tehama, Lassen

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