Chorizanthe leptotheca
An annual herb in Polygonaceae native to the Peninsular Ranges of southern California and Baja California, described in 1934 from a type collected between Ramona and Ballena in San Diego County, California, growing up to about 35 cm tall with basal oval leaves and a loose inflorescence of pink to red flowers surrounded by six reddish, curly-haired bracts tipped with hooked awns, blooming from early April through the third week of July, and found in brush, rocky, disturbed, and desert habitats.
Common Names
Ramona Spineflower, Peninsular Spineflower
Summary
Ramona spineflower, also known as Peninsular spineflower, is an annual herb native to the Peninsular Ranges of southern California and Baja California. It grows erect up to about 35 cm tall, with basal oval leaves up to 3 cm long; herbage is fuzzy to hairy and reddish. The inflorescence is a loose cluster of pink or red, hairy flowers up to 6 mm wide, each surrounded by six reddish, curly-haired bracts tipped with hooked awns.
Its habitat includes chaparral and forest, with coastal and alluvial fan contexts and plant communities such as Coastal Sage Scrub, Yellow Pine Forest, and Chaparral; distribution spans multiple California counties and Baja California, with NatureServe status G3 (Vulnerable), US N3, and California S3, a range of 20,000–200,000 km2 and an estimated 81–300 occurrences, and about 247 observation records in California; it is categorized as a native wildflower.
Lifecycle
Annual
Height
2-14 inches
Soil Type
Granitic soils (granite sands)
Bloom Color
Pink or red
Bloom Time
Spring to Summer
Foliage Color
Reddish
Fall Foliage Color
Red, Yellow
Growth Rate
Annual
Seasons of Interest
Spring and Summer
Attracts Wildlife
Attracts butterflies
Taxonomy
- Taxonomic Rank
- Species
- Author
- Goodman
- Publication
- Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 21: 61 (1934)
Superior Taxa
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Subkingdom
- Pteridobiotina
- Phylum
- Angiosperms
- Order
- Caryophyllales
- Family
- Polygonaceae
- Genus
- Chorizanthe