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Chorizanthe ventricosa
Also called Potbellied Spineflower
Priest Valley spineflower is a small annual herb from California's Coastal Ranges that grows on serpentine soils. It is not a common garden plant, and it is grown mainly by native plant enthusiasts and in restoration projects, where success depends on its specialized serpentine soil needs.
Chorizanthe ventricosa, common name Priest Valley spineflower, is a plant species endemic to a small region in the Coastal Ranges of west-central California. It is found only on serpentine outcrops in grasslands and pine-oak woodlands at elevations of 500–1000 m. It has been reported from 4 counties: Monterey, San Benito, Fresno and San Luis Obispo.
Chorizanthe ventricosa is an herb up to 70 cm tall, forming large spreading colonies. Leaves are up to 5 cm long. Flowers are formed in clusters up to 6 cm across, with green bracts with pointed tips giving the impression of spines. Flowers are 2-colored, white or yellow plus red or maroon.
Narrowleaf spineflower · Irish Hills Spineflower · Twolobe spineflower · Blakley's spineflower · Brittle spineflower · San Luis Obispo spineflower · Wrinkled spineflower · San Francisco spineflower · Diffuse spineflower · Douglas' spineflower · Fringed spineflower · Mendocino spineflower
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Chorizanthe ventricosa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
