Sabulina howellii

Howell's sandwort

Family: Caryophyllaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Howell's sandwort is a rare (CNPS 1B.3) California native annual found in the Klamath Ranges in chaparral and Jeffrey-pine/oak woodland on serpentine soils at elevations of 550 to 1,000 meters. Flowering from spring to summer, this plant produces white flowers with petals slightly longer than its narrow sepals. Growing 12 to 30 centimeters tall with erect to spreading stems that are finely glandular-hairy and turn purple when fruiting, it has a delicate branching habit from the base. Its leaves are rigid, lance-linear, and recurved, measuring 10 to 15 millimeters long and concentrated near the base of the stem. The tiny seeds are 1.4 to 1.7 millimeters long with thick brown to black-brown margins.

Habitat: Chaparral, Jeffrey-pine/oak woodland, serpentine

Bloom period: Spring-summer

Elevation: 550-1000 m

Bioregions: KR

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