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Taxon  Report  
Streptanthus hesperidis  Jeps.
Green jewel-flower
Streptanthus hesperidis is an annual herb that is native to California, and endemic (limited) to California.
California Rare Plant Rank: 1B.2 (rare, threatened, or endangered in CA and elsewhere).
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
Observation Search
~103 records in California
yellowone or more occurrences
within a 7.5-minute quadrangle
DJJJASONAFMM

Bloom Period
Genus: Streptanthus
Family: Brassicaceae  
Category: angiosperm  
PLANTS group:Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Ultramafic affinity: 6 - strict endemic
Name Status:
Accepted by JEF + CNPS + PLANTS

Alternate Names:
JEF + CNPS + PLANTSStreptanthus breweri var. hesperidis
Information about  Streptanthus hesperidis from other sources
Nursery availability from CNPLX
Commercial availability unknown.
Jepson eFlora

USDA PLANTS Profile (STHE6)

Photos on Calflora

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Google Images

Photos on iNaturalist

ID Tips on PlantID.net

[efloras.org] Description, Habitat: Pleiocardia hesperidis (Jepson) Greene; Streptanthus breweri A. Gray var. hesperidis (Jepson) Jepson Annuals; glabrous. Stems unbranched or branched basally, 1-3 dm. Basal leaves (soon withered); not rosulate; shortly petiolate; blade broadly obovate, 2-3 cm, margins coarsely and bluntly dentate distally. Cauline leaves: blade (mostly yellowish), ovate to lanceolate, 1-4 cm × 5-15 mm, (smaller distally), base amplexicaul, margins often entire. Racemes ebracteate, (secund, rachis flexuous). Fruiting pedicels divaricate-ascending, (straight), 1-2 mm. Flowers: calyx urceolate; sepals yellow-green, (ovate-lanceolate), 5-8 mm, keeled, (apex recurved or flaring); petals whitish (with purplish veins), 6-8 mm, blade 2-3 × 1-1.3 mm, margins not crisped, claw 4-5 mm, about as wide as blade; stamens in 3 unequal pairs; filaments: abaxial pair (connate 1/2 their length), 3-5 mm, lateral pair 2-3.5 mm, adaxial pair (connate entire length, recurved), 6-9 mm; anthers: abaxial and lateral pairs fertile, 1.7-2.5 mm, adaxial pair sterile, 0.7-1.2 mm; gynophore 0.2-0.5 mm. Fruits divaricate-ascending, somewhat torulose, nearly straight to, rarely, arcuate, flattened, 3-6 cm × 0.9-1.1 mm; valves each with obscure midvein; replum straight; ovules 26-38 per ovary; style 0.1-0.3 mm; stigma entire. Seeds oblong, 1.2-1.5 × 0.6-0.8 mm; wing (0-)0.05-0.1 mm wide, distal. 2n = 28. Flowering May-Jul. Serpentine barrens and associated openings in chaparral-oak woodland and cypress woodland; of conservation concern; 200-600 m; Calif. Streptanthus hesperidis is known from Lake and Napa counties. R. E. Buck et al. (1993) reduced it to a variety of S. breweri, but the two are sufficiently distinct to be recognized as independent species. It differs from S. breweri by having flexuous (versus straight) raceme rachises, yellowish (versus glaucous green) foliage, smaller petals (6-8 versus 8-12 mm), and often straight (versus often arcuate) fruits. (contributed by Mary Ann Machi)


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2024. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 04/26/2024).