''Plagiobothrys bracteatus'' 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 bracted popcornflower.

Distribution

It is native from

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 ...

throughout

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 ...

into

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

(Mexico). It can be found in a variety of wet habitats such as

vernal pools Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the saf ...

and other moist spots in

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 ...

, forests and woodlands.

Description

''Plagiobothrys bracteatus'' is an annual herb with a mostly upright stem 10 to 40 centimeters in length. The leaves are located along the stem, the lowest, largest ones measuring up to 10 centimeters long. The plant is coated in sparse rough hairs. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is a series of tiny flowers, the lower ones accompanied by leaflike

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

s. Each five-lobed white corolla measures 1 to 3 millimeters wide. The fruit is a narrow, cross-ribbed, tubercled nutlet no more than 2 millimeters long.

External links

Calflora Database: ''Plagiobothrys bracteatus'' (Bracted popcorn flower)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Plagiobothrys bracteatus''Photo gallery
bracteatus Flora of California Flora of Baja California Flora of Oregon Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Central Valley (California) Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Boraginoideae-stub