Streptanthus morrisonii

Morrison's jewelflower

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: biennial · Native

Morrison's jewelflower is a California native biennial found in central Coast Ranges and northern Outer South Coast Ranges in serpentine barrens, chaparral, and cypress/knobcone-pine woodland at elevations of 150 to 1,100 meters. Flowering from May to September, this plant produces creamy white flowers with brown-purple veins approximately 7 to 10 millimeters long, with delicate petals. Growing 6.5 to 12 meters tall with a simple stem that branches toward the top, it develops distinctive gray-green basal leaves that are often mottled and slightly purple underneath. Its leaves range from oblanceolate to broadly obovate, with basal rosettes that are dentate or wavy and fleshy, while mid-stem leaves are broadly ovate to narrowly lanceolate and sessile. The fruit develops as an erect to spreading pod 2.5 to 8 centimeters long, with seeds that are 1.5 to 2 millimeters in length.

Habitat: Serpentine barrens, chaparral, cypress/knobcone-pine woodland

Bloom period: May-Sep

Elevation: 150-1100 m

Bioregions: c&amps NCoR, SCoRO.

California counties: Lake, Colusa, Napa, Sonoma, Monterey

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