Rafinesquia neomexicana
Desert chicory, Desert Chicory
Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native
Desert chicory is a California native annual herb found in southern Sierra Nevada, San Bernardino Mountains, White and Inyo Mountains, and Desert regions in gravelly and sandy soils of scrub and woodland habitats at elevations of 200 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from February to June, this plant produces white flowers in clusters emerging from small, branching inflorescences. Growing with slender stems 15 to 60 centimeters tall, often supported by surrounding shrub branches, it has a delicate, branching structure. Its leaves are variable, typically deeply lobed and distributed along the stem, becoming smaller and less divided toward the top of the plant. The distinctive fruit features a long beak, with the seed body 8 to 10 millimeters long and a slender extension 3 to 6 millimeters beyond that.
Habitat: Gravelly, sandy soils, scrub, woodland
Bloom period: Feb-Jun
Elevation: 200-1500 m
Bioregions: s SNH, SnBr, W&I, D
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.