Silene scouleri subsp. scouleri

Scouler's catchfly, Scouler's Catchfly

Family: Caryophyllaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.2

Scouler's catchfly is a rare (CNPS 2B.2) California native perennial found in northern coastal, central coastal, and San Francisco Bay Area regions on rocky slopes and coastal bluffs at elevations below 300 meters. Flowering during summer, this plant produces white to rose-colored flowers with delicate petals featuring 2 to 4 distinctive lobes. Growing 15 to 70 centimeters tall with densely puberulent and glandular stems, it has an erect growth habit with progressively smaller leaves along its length. Its lower leaves are oblanceolate to elliptic, 5 to 10 centimeters long and 12 to 20 millimeters wide, while upper leaves become increasingly narrow and lanceolate to ovate. The plant produces elliptic to ovoid fruits on short 3 to 6 millimeter stalks, which are slightly puberulent or woolly.

Habitat: Rocky slopes, coastal bluffs

Bloom period: Summer

Elevation: < 300 m

Bioregions: NCo, CCo, SnFrB

California counties: Del Norte, Humboldt, Marin, Sonoma, San Francisco, San Mateo

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