Polygonum polygaloides subsp. kelloggii

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: annual · Native

Kellogg's polygala is a California native annual found in northwestern California, the Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, Transverse Ranges, and Peninsular Ranges in mountain meadows, seeps, and rainpools at elevations of 1,500 to 3,300 meters. Flowering from June to September, this delicate plant produces pink or white flowers in small ovoid clusters 3 to 15 millimeters long. Growing with slender stems 1 to 15 centimeters tall, it forms compact low-growing clusters across alpine and subalpine landscapes. Its leaves are accompanied by linear to lance-linear bracts 7 to 25 millimeters long with flat or slightly rolled margins. The tiny fruits are light-yellow to green-brown, ovate, and shiny, measuring 1.3 to 1.7 millimeters long.

Habitat: Mountain meadows, seeps, rainpools

Bloom period: Jun-Sep

Elevation: 1500-3300 m

Bioregions: NW, CaR, SN, TR, PR

California counties: Kern, Mono, Nevada, Tulare, San Bernardino, Inyo, Alpine, Amador, El Dorado, Modoc, Fresno, Butte, Calaveras, Glenn, Lake, Lassen, Mariposa, Merced, Shasta, Sierra, Trinity, Humboldt, Madera, Tuolumne, Mendocino, Tehama, Placer, Plumas, Siskiyou, Riverside, Colusa, Del Norte, Ventura

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