Streptanthus hispidus

Mount diablo jewelflower, Mount Diablo Jewelflower

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Mount diablo jewelflower is a rare (CNPS 1B.3) California native annual found in the northeastern San Francisco Bay region on Mount Diablo in rocky chaparral and grassland at elevations of 600 to 1,200 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces light purple flowers with white margins, 6 to 9 millimeters long, growing on a densely bristly plant. Growing 0.3 to 3 decimeters tall with simple or branched stems at the base, it has a distinctive bristly appearance throughout. Its leaves range from obovate basal leaves to mid-stem sessile leaves 0.7 to 6 centimeters long, with coarsely dentate edges and bases that are tapered to truncate. The fruit develops as a spreading-ascending pod 4 to 8.5 centimeters long, covered in bristly hairs with a prominent midvein.

Habitat: Rocky chaparral, grassland

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: 600-1200 m

Bioregions: ne SnFrB (Mount Diablo).

California counties: Contra Costa

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