Polemonium carneum
Oregon polemonium, Oregon Polemonium
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Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: Subshrub · Native
Conservation status: CNPS 2B.2
Polemonium carneum (Oregon polemonium) is a native California subshrub in the Polemoniaceae family, recognized by elevation, size, and flower color.
Oregon polemonium is a rare (CNPS 2B.2) California native perennial found in northwestern California, central coastal California, and San Francisco Bay Area regions in moist to dry, open areas at elevations below 1,800 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces white to pale pink flowers, occasionally purple, in open clusters with blooms 12 to 20 millimeters in diameter. Growing with erect stems 40 to 100 centimeters tall, it features a long, slender rhizome and glabrous or slightly hairy stems. Its compound leaves have 9 to 21 leaflets, each 2 to 4 centimeters long and 4 to 15 millimeters wide, arranged in an elliptic shape with entire margins. The fruit is 4 to 8 millimeters long, containing up to 6 dark brown to black seeds.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 7 sympatric species; elevation, size, and flower color are diagnostic
Habitat and range
Habitat: Moist to dry, open areas
Elevation: < 1800 m
California counties: Humboldt, Del Norte, Siskiyou, San Mateo, Marin, Alameda, Sonoma
Outside California: to Washington
Bloom period
Polemonium carneum blooms Apr-Jun.
Conservation status
CNPS 2B.2
How to tell it apart
vs Phlox: Polemonium (Jacob's ladder) has pinnately compound leaves with many discrete leaflets arranged ladder-like along the rachis; Phlox has simple, entire, usually opposite leaves.; vs Gilia: Polemonium bears true separate leaflets; Gilia leaves are pinnately dissected into narrow lobes rather than divided into distinct leaflets.; vs Ipomopsis: Polemonium leaflets are broad and entire; Ipomopsis leaves are finely cut into thread-like segments.; vs Collomia: Polemonium has compound leaves and open branched cymes; Collomia has entire to lobed leaves and flowers clustered among leafy bracts.; vs Vicia: Polemonium leaves lack tendrils and its flowers are radially symmetric bells or funnels; vetch leaves end in tendrils and bear bilateral pea flowers.
Frequently asked questions
Is Polemonium carneum native to California?
Yes. Polemonium carneum is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Polemonium carneum bloom?
Polemonium carneum blooms Apr-Jun.
Where in California does Polemonium carneum grow?
Polemonium carneum occurs in Humboldt, Del Norte, Siskiyou, San Mateo, Marin, Alameda, Sonoma, at elevations of < 1800 m.
What plant family does Polemonium carneum belong to?
Polemonium carneum is in the Polemoniaceae family, genus Polemonium.
Is Polemonium carneum rare or endangered?
Polemonium carneum carries California Rare Plant Rank 2B.2, state rank S2.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CNPS Rare Plant Inventory · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos · CDFW CNDDB
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.