Thermopsis gracilis

Slender goldenbanner

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Slender goldenbanner is a California native perennial herb found in the Klamath Ranges and northern Coast Ranges in open sites and mixed-evergreen forests at elevations of 100 to 1,200 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces yellow flowers in loose clusters along stems 30 to 80 centimeters tall. Growing with green stems that have irregular branching, it forms an upright clump with distinctive compound leaves. Its leaves feature three to seven leaflets that are glabrous to sparsely soft-hairy, with 12 to 18 lateral veins giving them a delicate, intricate texture. The plant produces straight fruits that spread outward, adding to its distinctive architectural presence in the forest understory.

Habitat: Open sites, generally mixed-evergreen forest

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 100-1200 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoR

California counties: Shasta, Lake, Del Norte, Trinity, Monterey, Humboldt, Siskiyou, San Diego, Modoc, Napa

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