Streptanthella longirostris

Long beaked twist flower

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: annual · Native

Long beaked twist flower is a California native annual found in southern San Joaquin Valley, southern Coast Ranges, Great Basin, and desert regions in sandy soils, desert scrub, woodland, and chaparral at elevations of 50 to 2,200 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces white to pale yellow flowers with purple veins, 4 to 6 millimeters long, with delicate spoon-shaped petals. Growing 2 to 6 meters tall with generally glaucous stems that are glabrous or hairy near the base, it has an upright and slender form. Its lower leaves are lanceolate to oblanceolate and 2 to 5.5 centimeters long, while upper leaves become linear and sessile. The distinctive fruit is a long linear silique 3.5 to 6 centimeters in length, featuring a notable 3.5 to 6 millimeter beak at the tip.

Habitat: Common in sandy soils, desert scrub, woodland, slopes, chaparral

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: 50-2200 m

Bioregions: s SnJV, SCoRI, GB, D

California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Mono, Riverside, San Diego, Modoc, Lassen

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