Plumbago auriculata

Cape leadwort

Family: Plumbaginaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Cape leadwort is a naturalized shrub found in southern California coastal areas in streambeds and coastal scrub habitats at elevations below 150 meters. Flowering all year, this plant produces pale blue flowers with distinctive tubular corollas 37 to 53 millimeters long. Growing as an evergreen shrub to 3 meters tall, it has an erect to trailing growth habit with diffuse branching. Its leaves are generally sessile, with blades 2.5 to 9 centimeters long and 0.5 to 2.5 centimeters wide, featuring a long-tapered base that often clasps the stem. The plant produces brown seeds 7 millimeters long within 8-millimeter fruits.

Habitat: Streambeds, canyons in coastal scrub

Bloom period: All year

Elevation: < 150 m

Bioregions: SCo

California counties: Orange, San Diego, Los Angeles, 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.