Trichostema austromontanum subsp. austromontanum

Family: Lamiaceae · Type: annual · Native

Southern blue curls is a California native annual herb found in central Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi, Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, and southern eastern Sierra Nevada on drying lake margins, meadows, and streambanks at elevations of 500 to 2,600 meters. Flowering from July to October, this plant produces small blue to lavender flowers clustered along slender stems. Growing up to 50 centimeters tall with delicate, branching stems that are often reddish-tinged and slightly hairy. Its leaves are relatively small, less than 5 centimeters long, and positioned close together along the stem. The plant forms compact clusters in open, moist habitats, creating delicate patches of blue-purple color in late summer and early autumn.

Habitat: Drying lake margins, meadows, streambanks

Bloom period: Jul-Oct

Elevation: 500-2600 m

Bioregions: c SNH, Teh, TR, PR, SNE

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