Physaria cordiformis
Family: Brassicaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Heart-shaped physary is a California native perennial found in the White and Inyo Mountains in steep hillsides, juniper and sagebrush areas, and Bristlecone-pine forests at elevations of 3,200 to 3,660 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces delicate pale yellow or white flowers 7 to 8.5 millimeters long with obovate to oblanceolate petals. Growing with prostrate to decumbent stems 5 to 15 centimeters tall, it has a densely hairy simple or branched caudex. Its basal leaves are 2 to 4 centimeters long, deltate to elliptic, while cauline leaves are 1 to 2 centimeters long and 3 to 6 millimeters wide, oblanceolate to linear. The fruit is distinctively wider than long, obcordate, and slightly inflated with a notched or truncate tip.
Habitat: Steep hillsides, dry sandy, gravelly soils, juniper and sagebrush areas, rocky ridges, Bristlecone-pine forest
Bloom period: May-Aug
Elevation: 3200-3660 m
Bioregions: W&I
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.