Plagiobothrys parishii

Parish's popcornflower

Family: Boraginaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1

Parish's popcornflower is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native annual found in the central eastern Mojave Desert and southeastern California in wet, alkaline soil around desert springs and mud flats at elevations of 750 to 2,210 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces white flowers with yellow appendages in small delicate clusters. Growing with prostrate to ascending stems 5 to 30 centimeters long that are short and spreading-hairy, it has a low-growing, sprawling form. Its cauline leaves range 1 to 5 centimeters long with distinctive bulbous-based hairs on the undersides. The tiny nutlets are grayish-brown, lance-ovate, and asymmetrically shaped with strongly tubercled cross-ribs.

Habitat: Wet, alkaline soil around desert springs, mud flats

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: 750-2210 m

Bioregions: SNE, c DMoj.

California counties: Inyo, San Bernardino, Mono, Los Angeles, Riverside

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