Trichostema rubisepalum

Hernandez bluecurls

Family: Lamiaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Hernandez bluecurls is a California native annual herb found in the central Sierra Nevada Foothills in Tuolumne and Mariposa counties and San Benito County, growing in seasonal seeps and gravelly streambeds on serpentine soils at elevations of 250 to 1,400 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces delicate flowers with curved corollas emerging from red-tinged calyxes. Growing less than 50 centimeters tall with long, spreading hairs and some short glandular stems, it has a distinctive wispy appearance. Its leaves are lanceolate to narrowly ovate with indistinct or very short petioles, creating a fine, delicate foliage structure. The plant's four to six millimeter stamens and curved corolla tubes contribute to its unique bluecurls characteristics.

Habitat: Seasonal seeps and gravelly streambeds, serpentine

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: 250-1400 m

Bioregions: c SNF (Tuolumne, Mariposa cos.), SCoRI (San Benito Co.).

California counties: Tuolumne, Kern, Mariposa, San Benito, Sierra, Tulare, Shasta, 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.