Triphysaria floribunda

San francisco owl's-clover, San Francisco Owl's-Clover

Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

San francisco owl's-clover is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native annual found in northern Central Coast and western San Francisco Bay areas including Marin and San Mateo counties in coastal grasslands and serpentine slopes at elevations below 200 meters. Flowering from April to May, this plant produces creamy white flowers with a delicate lower lip and subtle pouches about 2 millimeters deep. Growing 10 to 30 centimeters tall with a yellow-brown coloration, the plant has a slender, mostly glabrous or sparsely stiff-hairy stem. Its leaves are intricately divided, ranging 10 to 40 millimeters long with 5 to 9 distinct lobes, creating a finely textured appearance. The fruit contains 20 to 30 dark brown seeds, each approximately 4 to 5 millimeters in length.

Habitat: Coastal grassland, serpentine slopes

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: < 200 m

Bioregions: n CCo, w SnFrB (Marin, San Mateo cos.).

California counties: Marin, San Mateo, San Francisco, Sonoma

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