Polanisia dodecandra subsp. trachysperma
Western clammyweed, Western Clammyweed
Family: Cleomaceae · Type: annual · Native
Western clammyweed is a California native annual found in northern California, including the Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada foothills, Sacramento Valley, and Modoc Plateau in gravel bars, roadsides, and disturbed areas at elevations of 30 to 1,680 meters. Flowering from June to September, this plant produces white petals with purple sepals and stamens, creating delicate flowers 6 to 13 millimeters long with a distinctive bright orange nectary. Growing with slender stems 5 to 30 centimeters tall, it develops green to purple-tinted flower clusters that emerge after the leaves. Its compound leaves have multiple leaflets 1.6 to 4.5 centimeters long, carried on petioles 1.5 to 4.5 centimeters in length. The mature fruit develops as a green pod 4 to 7 centimeters long and 5 to 9 millimeters wide.
Habitat: Gravel bars, roadsides, disturbed areas
Bloom period: Jun-Sep
Elevation: 30-1680 m
Bioregions: NCoRI, CaR, n&c SNF, ScV, MP
California counties: Mariposa, Colusa, Butte, Tehama, Glenn, Riverside, Modoc, Shasta, Sacramento
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.