''Plagiobothrys collinus'' 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 156 genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the orde ...

known by the common name Cooper's popcornflower. Calflora: ''Plagiobothrys collinus''
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Distribution

The annual plant is native to

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 m ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, and northern

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

(Mexico). It can be found in many types of

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s, including

coastal sage scrub Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is ...

, chaparral, valley grassland, and open areas of

oak woodland An oak woodland is a plant community with a tree canopy dominated by oaks (''Quercus spp.''). In terms of canopy closure, oak woodlands are intermediate between oak savanna, which is more open, and oak forest, which is more closed. Although the ...

Description

''Plagiobothrys collinus'' is an annual herb with a spreading or erect stem in length. The leaves along the stem are 1 to 4 centimeters long, the lower ones oppositely arranged and the upper ones alternate. The herbage is coated in fine and rough hairs.Jepson eFlora: ''Plagiobothrys collinus''
/ref> The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

is a long, widely spaced series of tiny flowers, each with a five-lobed white corolla no more than 7 millimeters wide, sometimes as small as one millimeter. The bloom period is February through May. The fruit is a minute nutlet with angular cross-ribs visible in magnification.

Varieties

Varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

include: *''Plagiobothrys collinus'' var. ''californicus'' — California popcorn flower, primarily Peninsular Ranges in California and

(México). *''Plagiobothrys collinus'' var. ''fulvescens'' — California popcornflower, rusty haired popcorn flower, native to California chaparral and woodlands habitats in California and Baja California. *''Plagiobothrys collinus'' var. ''gracilis'' — Graceful popcorn flower,

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 else ...

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

, including the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

. *''Plagiobothrys collinus'' var. ''ursinus'' — Northern popcorn flower, native to eastern

Transverse Ranges The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa ...

and Peninsular Ranges in southern California and northwestern Baja California.Calflora: Plagiobothrys collinus var. ursinus
/ref>

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Plagiobothrys collinus'' (Cooper's popcornflower)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Plagiobothrys collinus''UC Photos gallery: ''Plagiobothrys collinus''
collinus Flora of California Flora of Arizona Flora of Baja 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 Transverse Ranges Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Asterid-stub