''Meconella denticulata'' is a species of flowering plant in the poppy family known by the common name smallflower fairypoppy. 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 grows in the coastal mountain ranges from around the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

to the

Peninsular Ranges The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges, whic ...

in the southern part of the state.

Description

''Meconella denticulata'' is an annual herb growing up to 20 or 30 centimeters tall. The leaves are linear to oval in shape, sometimes slightly toothed, and 1 to 4 centimeters in length. The

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 ...

is a single flower on a narrow

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

. It has usually 6 white petals each a few millimeters long. The fruit is a narrow, twisting capsule 2 or 3 centimeters in maximum length containing many tiny seeds.

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment of ''Meconella denticulata''USDA Plants Profile for ''Meconella denticulata''Flora of North America''Meconella denticulata'' — U.C. Photo gallery
Papaveroideae Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Channel Islands of California Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Taxa named by Edward Lee Greene Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Ranunculales-stub