Tropidocarpum californicum

Kings gold

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1

Kings gold is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native annual found in the San Joaquin Valley in Kern and Kings counties within alkaline Atriplex scrub at approximately 65 meters elevation. Flowering in March, this plant produces small yellow flowers with oblanceolate to spoon-shaped petals approximately 1.6 to 2.5 millimeters long. Growing with slender stems 3 to 25 centimeters tall, it has delicate branching structure. Its leaves feature proximal cauline blades 2.5 to 4.5 centimeters long with 2 to 4 pairs of entire lateral lobes. The fruit is a small, hairy silicle 4 to 5 millimeters wide with thick-leathery valves that are slightly tubercled near the tip.

Habitat: +- Alkaline, sandy clay soil in Atriplex scrub

Bloom period: Mar

Elevation: +- 65 m.

Bioregions: SnJV (Kern, Kings cos.).

California counties: Kern, Kings

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