Spermolepis gigantea Calflora

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Taxon Report

Spermolepis gigantea (Coulter & Rose) Nesom

desert scaleseed

2011 Steve Matson

Spermolepis gigantea is an annual herb that is native to California, and also found elsewhere in western North America.

California Rare Plant Rank: 2B.1 (rare, threatened, or endangered in CA; common elsewhere).


	Plant Range Observation Search ~5 records in California Plant Characteristics one or more occurrences within a 7.5-minute quadrangle

Bloom Period

Photos on Calflora


Genus:	Spermolepis
Family:	Apiaceae
Category:	angiosperm
PLANTS group:	Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Communities: Creosote Bush Scrub

Name Status:
Accepted by CNPS + POWO

Alternate Names:


CNPS	Ammoselinum giganteum

Information about Spermolepis gigantea from other sources


Nursery availability from CNPLX Commercial availability unknown. Photos on Calflora Photos on CalPhotos Google Images Photos on iNaturalist ID Tips on PlantID.net	International Plants Names Index Search efloras.org (Flora of North America) Landscape information from Calscape CNPS Inventory: 2B.1 Consortium of California Herbaria 2 Search the Native American Ethnobotany Database	Add an Observation Location Suitability Planting Guide Distribution by County
photos / record / common / links 2011 Steve Matson:!2011 Steve Matson:! null:!null:!

Suggested Citation

Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2025. The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/ (Accessed: 05/18/2025).