Romulea rosea var. australis

Rosy sand crocus

Family: Iridaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Rosy sand crocus is a naturalized perennial found in northern coastal California, central California coast, Sacramento Valley, and San Francisco Bay Area in disturbed areas and sandy or hard-packed soils at elevations below 50 meters. Flowering from March to April, this plant produces pink or lilac flowers with yellow perianth tubes approximately 1.5 to 2 centimeters long. Growing with slender stems generally less than 10 centimeters tall, it has grass-like leaves 5 to 35 centimeters long and 1 to 2.5 millimeters in diameter. Its leaves are thin and linear, emerging from a compact base with delicate, pale green coloration. The fruit is 10 to 15 millimeters long with persistent bracts, suggesting a resilient reproductive strategy in its adopted landscape.

Habitat: Uncommon. Disturbed areas, dry, sandy or often hard-packed soil

Bloom period: Mar-Apr

Elevation: < 50 m

Bioregions: NCo, ScV, CCo, SnFrB

California counties: Butte, Monterey, Marin, Sacramento, Humboldt, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Contra Costa, Mendocino, San Luis Obispo, San Diego, Yuba

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