Rhinotropis heterorhyncha

Notch-beaked milkwort, Notch-Beaked Milkwort

Family: Polygalaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.3

Notch-beaked milkwort is a rare (CNPS 2B.3) California native perennial found in the Funeral Mountains of the desert mountains in Inyo County, growing in rocky desert scrub areas at elevations of 900 to 1,600 meters. Flowering from April to May, this plant produces pink sepal wings with yellow keel petals featuring a distinctive 1.4 to 4 millimeter notched beak. Growing as a low-spreading subshrub forming thorny mats 10 to 20 centimeters tall and up to 70 centimeters wide, it develops glaucous stems that are glabrous or short-stiff-hairy. Its leaves are small, 4 to 20 millimeters long, ranging from ovate to elliptic or obovate, with scattered short sharp hairs and tapered to rounded bases. The plant's inflorescence is prominently thorn-tipped, creating a distinctive and defensive growth structure.

Habitat: Rocky areas in desert scrub

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: 900-1600 m

Bioregions: DMtns (Funeral Mtns, Inyo Co.)

California counties: Inyo

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