Rhinotropis cornuta var. fishiae

Fish's milkwort

Family: Polygalaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Fish's milkwort is a native shrub found in southern Coastal Ranges, Western Transverse Ranges, southern Great Basin, and Peninsular Ranges in chaparral and oak woodland at elevations of 90 to 1,270 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces flowers with distinctive dark pink wings and sepal tips that are 7 to 11.2 millimeters long. Growing as a compact shrub that forms thickets less than 2 meters in diameter, it develops decumbent to erect stems 60 to 250 centimeters tall. Its leaves are characteristically elongated, with length more than twice their width, creating a distinctive foliage profile. The plant's wings are delicately ciliate and may be glabrous or slightly puberulent near the tips, adding to its botanical complexity.

Habitat: Chaparral, oak woodland

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: 90-1270 m

Bioregions: s SCoRO, WTR, SnGb, PR

California counties: Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Mariposa

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