''Chorizanthe angustifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the

buckwheat family The Polygonaceae are a family of flowering plants known informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The name is based on the genus ''Polygonum'', and was first used by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1789 ...

known by the common name narrowleaf spineflower. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, where it is known only from the coastline of

San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly h ...

and Santa Barbara Counties, but is locally common.

Description

''Chorizanthe angustifolia'' is small, hairy herb. It sends out prostrate

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...

s along the sandy soil of its habitat, each no longer than about 10 centimeters. The

is a headlike cluster of several pink flowers, each surrounded by six bracts tipped in hooked spines. The flower itself is only 2 or 3 millimeters wide and white to pink in color.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Chorizanthe angustifolia'' (Narrow leaf spineflower)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Chorizanthe angustifolia''UC Photos gallery: ''Chorizanthe angustifolia''
angustifolia Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of San Luis Obispo County, California Natural history of Santa Barbara County, California Taxa named by Thomas Nuttall {{Polygonaceae-stub