Spermolepis echinata

Bristly scaleseed

Family: Apiaceae · Type: annual · Native

Bristly scaleseed is a California native annual found in the Borrego Valley in southern California on rocky slopes and sandy flats at elevations of 60 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from March to April, this plant produces small white flowers in delicate umbels with unequal rays spreading across the landscape. Growing low and spreading, with stems 5 to 40 centimeters long, it forms a loose, open ground-hugging structure. Its leaves have delicate, thread-like segments about 2 to 18 millimeters long, with ovate blades up to 25 millimeters wide. The fruit features prominent ribs covered in short, bristly hairs, giving the plant its distinctive name.

Habitat: Rocky slopes, sandy flats

Bloom period: Mar-Apr

Elevation: 60-1500 m

Bioregions: DSon (Borrego Valley)

California counties: San Diego

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