Plagiobothrys torreyi

High sierra popcornflower, High Sierra Popcornflower

Family: Boraginaceae · Type: annual · Native

High sierra popcornflower is a California native annual herb found in alpine and subalpine meadows at elevations above 2,000 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces small white flowers with pale yellow appendages and a pink-stained corolla limb approximately 1.5 to 3 millimeters in diameter. Growing with decumbent to erect reddish stems 5 to 30 centimeters tall that are stiffly-spreading-hairy, it develops distinctive basal leaves in a rosette and alternate cauline leaves that are ovate to oblong. Its leaves range from 1 to 8 centimeters long, creating a delicate ground-hugging appearance. The fruit consists of small, round-ovate nutlets approximately 1.5 to 2.2 millimeters long, with a grayish surface and subtle ridges.

California counties: Fresno, Tulare, El Dorado, Nevada, Plumas, San Bernardino, Lassen, Inyo, Kern, Mono, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Calaveras, Placer, Alpine, Madera, Sierra, Santa Cruz

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