Streptopus amplexifolius var. americanus

American streptopus

Family: Liliaceae · Type: perennial · Native

American streptopus is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, northern California Ranges, northern Sierra Nevada, and Modoc Plateau in moist, shaded areas at elevations of 250 to 1,700 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces white flowers tinged with green, bell-shaped and 9 to 15 millimeters long. Growing with stems 30 to 100 centimeters tall that are much-branched and ranging from glabrous to densely hairy, it emerges from a thick rhizome with fibrous roots. Its leaves are nearly sessile, 5 to 15 centimeters long, cordate at the base and clasping the stem, with a slightly glaucous undersurface. The fruit develops as a yellow or red berry 10 to 15 millimeters long, containing many pale yellow seeds.

Habitat: Moist, shaded areas

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 250-1700 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoRH, CaRH, n SNH, MP

California counties: Modoc, Yuba, Butte, Plumas, Siskiyou, Humboldt, Trinity, Tehama, Glenn, Del Norte, El Dorado

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