Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Mucronea californica

California spineflower
Habit Plants (0.3–)0.5–3(–5) ×1–6(–8) dm.
Leaves

petiole 0.5–3 cm;

blade narrowly spatulate to obovate, (0.5–)1–5 × (0.1–)0.2–0.8(–1.2) cm.
Inflorescences

bracts 3(–5), unilateral, spreading to nearly erect, connate for 1/2 their length, triangular to ovate or oblong, becoming acerose only at terminal nodes and then linear to linear-lanceolate, 0.5–1(–2) cm, apex acute to obtuse;

awns 1–2.5(–3) mm.
Involucres

1–3, (2–)3(–4)-angled, obscurely ribbed and not corrugate, not ventricose, 2.5–5(–7) mm;

teeth (2–)3(–4), spreading to strongly divergent, glandular or slightly hirsute;

awns divergent, (0.5–)1–2.5(–3) mm.
Flowers

1(–2);

perianth 1.5–2.5(–3) mm, pubescent at least near base abaxially;

tepals oblong, entire apically;

stamens 6–9;

filaments 1–2(–2.5) mm;

anthers 0.5–0.7 mm.
Achenes

2–3 mm.
2n

= 38.

Mucronea californica
Phenology Flowering Mar–Aug.
Habitat Sandy flats and slopes, coastal grassland, coastal sage and chaparral communities, pine-oak woodlands
Elevation 0-1000(-1400) m (0-3300(-4600) ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Mucronea californica is found mainly along the Pacific Coast from San Luis Obispo County south to San Diego County and inland in the southern Coast and Transverse ranges from Monterey County to Los Angeles and western Riverside County. Given the extensive urbanization in southern California, California spineflower is now uncommon there. Along the coast, and especially in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, it can be weedy in deep, moving sands. Mucronea californica and M. perfoliata sometimes are found growing together without indication of intergradation.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 5, p. 471.
Parent taxa Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Mucronea
Sibling taxa
M. perfoliata
Synonyms Chorizanthe californica, Chorizanthe californica var. suksdorfii, M. californica var. suksdorfii
Name authority Bentham: Trans. Linn. Soc. London 17: 419, plate 20. (1836)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers