Plagiobothrys collinus var. gracilis

San diego popcornflower, San Diego Popcornflower

Family: Boraginaceae · Type: annual · Native

San diego popcornflower is a California native annual herb found in southern California coastal regions including Riverside and San Diego counties, Channel Islands, and southwestern Peninsular Ranges in dry coastal scrub and occasional chaparral at elevations of 5 to 640 meters. Flowering from January to May, this delicate plant produces small white flowers approximately 1.5 to 2 millimeters in diameter. Growing with somewhat prostrate stems 10 to 30 centimeters long covered in coarse hairs, it spreads across the landscape with a low-growing habit. Its narrow linear leaves measure 1 to 4 centimeters long and 2 to 2.5 millimeters wide, with inflorescences that distinctively extend beyond the leaf length. The fruit consists of small nutlets 1 to 1.5 millimeters long, characteristic of its popcornflower genus.

Habitat: dry places, +- clay openings in coastal scrub, occasionally chaparral

Bloom period: Jan-May

Elevation: 5-640 m

Bioregions: SCo (Riverside, San Diego cos.), ChI, sw PR (w San Diego Co.).

California counties: Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Ventura, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo

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