''Lithospermum californicum'' is a species of flowering plant in the

borage family Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees, and herbs in 146 to 154 genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the order ...

known by the common name California stoneseed. It is native to southern

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and northern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where it can be found in many types of mountain habitat, such as forest, woodland, and

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

, sometimes on

serpentine soil Serpentine soil is an uncommon soil type produced by weathered ultramafic rock such as peridotite and its metamorphic derivatives such as serpentinite. More precisely, serpentine soil contains minerals of the serpentine subgroup, especially an ...

Description

It is a hairy perennial herb growing from a

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproot ...

and woody

caudex A caudex (: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is most ...

. It produces a clump of branching, spreading stems up to about 40 centimeters long. The stems are lined with widely lance-shaped, lightly hairy leaves up to 5 centimeters long. The flowers appear near the ends of the stem branches, each with a calyx of narrow, pointed

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s. The corolla is bright golden yellow and nearly a centimeter wide at the mouth.

External links

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Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
californicum Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Boraginoideae-stub