Pholistoma membranaceum
White fiesta flower
Family: Hydrophyllaceae · Type: annual · Native
White fiesta flower is a California native annual found in central Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada Foothills, San Joaquin Valley, Central Western California, southwestern California, and desert regions in beaches, bluffs, ravines, wooded slopes, and desert washes at elevations of 40 to 1,400 meters. Flowering from February to May, this plant produces delicate white flowers with distinctive purple-spotted lobes in small clusters of 2 to 10 blossoms. Growing with slender, pale bluish-green stems 10 to 90 centimeters tall, it spreads across varied landscapes with an elegant, somewhat sprawling form. Its lower leaves are broadly oblong to ovate, 2 to 13 centimeters long, with 5 to 11 rounded lobes and a heart-shaped or truncate base, creating a distinctive leafy appearance. Small fruits develop 2 to 4 millimeters wide, containing one or two seeds.
Habitat: Beaches, bluffs, ravines, wooded slopes, desert washes
Bloom period: Feb-May
Elevation: 40-1400 m
Bioregions: c&s SNF, Teh, SnJV, CW, SW, D
California counties: Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, Inyo, Kern, Imperial, Riverside, Los Angeles, Tulare, San Luis Obispo, Alameda, San Benito, Fresno, Stanislaus, San Diego, Santa Clara, Monterey, Kings, Contra Costa, Ventura, Merced, San Joaquin, Mariposa, Trinity
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.