Thysanocarpus conchuliferus

Santa cruz island fringepod, Santa Cruz Island Fringepod

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2 · Endangered

Santa cruz island fringepod is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native annual found in northern Channel Islands on Santa Cruz Island in open, dry slopes and cliffs at elevations of 50 to 500 meters. Flowering from March to April, this plant produces small whitish to purplish flowers with delicate, spoon-shaped petals approximately 2 to 2.5 millimeters long. Growing with slender stems 5 to 15 centimeters tall, it has a glabrous structure with distinctive leaf variation. Its basal leaves are 1 to 3 centimeters long, oblanceolate to elliptic and pinnately lobed, while cauline leaves are lanceolate, sessile, and clasping at the base. The fruit is particularly notable for its round shape with a strongly incurved wing that has unique spoon-shaped lobes.

Habitat: Open, dry slopes, cliffs

Bloom period: Mar-Apr

Elevation: 50-500 m

Bioregions: n ChI (Santa Cruz Island).

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