''Chorizanthe parryi'' is a species of flowering plant in the

buckwheat family The Polygonaceae are a family of flowering plants known informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The name is based on the genus ''Polygonum'', and was first used by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1789 ...

known by the common name Parry's spineflower and San Bernardino spineflower. The plant is endemic to Southern California, where it is found in the

San Bernardino Mountains The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at at San Gorgonio Mountain � ...

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Tr ...

and Western Transverse Ranges, the

Colorado Desert California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna. Geography and geology The Colorado De ...

, and along the southern coast. It is found mainly in

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

scrub plant communities.

Description

''Chorizanthe parryi'' is a small, sprawling herb with roughly hairy stems spreading along the ground or somewhat upright. There are a few leaves up to four centimeters long located mainly around the base of the stems where they emerge from the ground. The flowers have urn-shaped bases of woolly

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s whose points may be straight or hooked, the characteristic which differentiates the two varieties. The tiny flower is white and sometimes hairy.

Varieties

*''Chorizanthe parryi'' var. ''fernandina'' — San Fernando Valley spineflower, endemic to Southern California and formerly known in 10 locations in the foothills around the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

and ranges in Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura counties. Those were lost to development, and botanists thought the species was extinct from 1929 until it was discovered in 1999. It is now only known from 2 populations: on Laskey Mesa in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve of the Simi Hills in Ventura County; and on the proposed

Newhall Ranch Newhall may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places in England *Newhall, Cheshire *Newhall, Derbyshire * Newhall, Essex, an area within Harlow * Newhall, South Yorkshire, an area within Sheffield in the United States * Newhall, Santa Clarita, California, a ...

mega−development site in the Santa Clara River Valley at the base of the northern Santa Susana Mountains in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

. It is a state

California Department of Fish and Wildlife The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), formerly known as the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), is a state agency under the California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages and protect ...

and California Native Plant Society listed Critically endangered species. *''Chorizanthe parryi'' var. ''parryi'' — Parry's spineflower, San Bernardino spineflower.CalFlora Database: ''Chorizanthe parryi'' var. ''parryi''
/ref>

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Chorizanthe parryi''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5105123 parryi Endemic flora of California Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Sonoran Deserts Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Colorado Desert Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains Natural history of the Transverse Ranges ~ ~ ~ ~ Taxa named by Sereno Watson