Polemonium pulcherrimum var. pulcherrimum

Sky pilot

Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Sky pilot is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, high Cascade Range, northern and central Sierra Nevada Mountains, Modoc Plateau, and northern Sierra Nevada at elevations of 2,400 to 3,700 meters in rocky talus habitats. Flowering from June to September, this plant produces striking blue to purple flowers in delicate clusters. Growing with compact stems typically 10 to 20 centimeters tall, it forms dense, low-growing cushions in alpine and subalpine environments. Its leaves are finely divided with numerous small leaflets, creating a dense, feathery appearance characteristic of high-altitude mountain plants. The plant's sparsely glandular-hairy foliage helps it survive in harsh, exposed mountain landscapes.

Habitat: Talus

Bloom period: Jun-Sep

Elevation: 2400-3700 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoRH, CaRH, n&ampc SNH, MP, n SNE

California counties: El Dorado, Lassen, Nevada, Plumas, Mono, Fresno, Siskiyou, Mariposa

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