Torilis nodosa

Short sock-destroyer, Short Sock-Destroyer

Family: Apiaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Short sock-destroyer is a naturalized annual found in the California Floristic Province in disturbed places at elevations below 1,800 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces tiny white flowers in sparse, delicate clusters. Growing with slender stems 10 to 50 centimeters tall, it forms a loosely branched structure. Its finely divided leaves are pinnately dissected, with narrow linear segments 3 to 8 millimeters long that give the plant a lacy, intricate appearance. The fruit is covered with ascending prickles that can easily catch onto clothing, explaining its colorful common name.

Habitat: Disturbed places

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: < 1800 m

Bioregions: CA-FP

California counties: San Luis Obispo, Kern, Riverside, Santa Clara, Los Angeles, Alameda, Fresno, Butte, Orange, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Contra Costa, Mendocino, San Bernardino, Tulare, Marin, San Francisco, Sonoma, El Dorado, Colusa, Tuolumne, Glenn, Yuba, Ventura, Solano, Calaveras, Napa, Amador, Yolo, Placer, Nevada, Sutter, Tehama, Stanislaus, Humboldt, San Benito, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sacramento, Lake, Merced, Mariposa, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey

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