Plagiobothrys shastensis
Shasta popcornflower
Family: Boraginaceae · Type: annual · Native
Shasta popcornflower is a California native annual found in northwestern California, the Cascade Range foothills, northern Sierra Nevada, San Francisco Bay Area, and southern Coast Ranges in dry slopes, grasslands, and woodlands at elevations below 800 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces small white flowers less than 3 millimeters in diameter, occasionally with reddish staining on stems and lower leaves. Growing with erect stems 5 to 30 centimeters tall, the plant develops a sparse branching structure with few stems emerging from a basal rosette. Its leaves form a basal rosette 1 to 3 centimeters long, with a few alternate cauline leaves along the stem. The distinctive fruit consists of shiny, cross-shaped nutlets 2 to 3 millimeters long, with wide cross-ribs and a distinctive gray to tan coloration.
Habitat: Uncommon. Dry slopes, flats, grassland, woodland
Bloom period: Mar-Jun
Elevation: < 800 m
Bioregions: NW, CaRF, n&c SNF, SnFrB, SCoR
California counties: Lassen, Trinity, Tehama, Shasta, Placer, Butte, Mendocino, Glenn, Colusa, San Luis Obispo, Stanislaus, Merced, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Lake, Amador, Siskiyou, Plumas, San Diego, Calaveras
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.