Podistera nevadensis

Sierra podistera, Sierra Podistera

Family: Apiaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Sierra podistera is a rare (CNPS 4.3) California native perennial found in northern and central Sierra Nevada, San Bernardino Mountains, and White and Inyo Mountains in unglaciated granitic terrain at elevations of 3,000 to 4,000 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces small yellow flowers in compact clusters with distinctively winged rays. Growing as a dense cushion 2 to 5 centimeters tall and spreading 2 to 5 decimeters in diameter, it forms tight mats in rocky alpine environments. Its leaves feature white scarious-sheathing petioles with finely divided blades, each bearing 1 to 6 narrow linear to lanceolate leaflets. The compact fruit is 4 to 4.5 millimeters long with thread-like ribs and 3 to 4 oil tubes between each rib.

Habitat: Unglaciated granitic gravel, scree, crevices

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: 3000-4000 m

Bioregions: n&ampc SNH, SnBr, W&ampI.

California counties: Mono, Tuolumne, Fresno, El Dorado, San Bernardino

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