Silene serpentinicola

Serpentine catchfly

Family: Caryophyllaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Serpentine catchfly is a rare California native (CNPS 1B.2) perennial found in the Klamath Ranges on serpentine soils in chaparral and conifer forest at elevations of 100 to 800 meters. Flowering in early summer, this plant produces bright red flowers with distinctive petal lobes emerging from a densely glandular-hairy calyx. Growing with a thin branching rhizome from a deep taproot, it forms an erect, canescent stem 4 to 10 centimeters tall. Its leaves are oblanceolate to obovate, gradually reduced upward and measuring 2.5 to 4.5 centimeters long, with a unique spoon-shaped appearance. The plant produces small ovoid fruits and contains dark brown seeds approximately 1.8 to 2 millimeters long.

Habitat: Serpentine soils, chaparral, conifer forest

Bloom period: Early summer

Elevation: 100-800 m

Bioregions: KR.

California counties: Del Norte

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