Taxon Report
Plagiobothrys hystriculus (Piper) Jtn.bearded popcornflower |
 © 2006 Robert E. Preston |
Taxon Summary
Plagiobothrys hystriculus, commonly known as bearded popcornflower, is a annual herb in the Boraginaceae that is found only in California. It occurs within Valley and foothill grassland (mesic), and Vernal pools (margins), growing at elevations from 0 to 274 meters. Plagiobothrys hystriculus is ranked 1B.1, Plants Rare, Threatened or Endangered in California and Elsewhere; Seriously threatened in California.Classification
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Scientific Name: |
Plagiobothrys hystriculus (Piper) Jtn. |
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Common Name: |
bearded popcornflower |
| Family: | Boraginaceae |
| Element Code: | PDBOR0V0H0 |
| USDA Plants Symbol: | PLHY |
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Synonyms/Other Names: |
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Ecology and Life History
| Lifeform: | annual herb |
| Blooming Period: Apr-May | Apr-May |
| Elevation: | 0-274 (0-900) |
| General Habitats: | Valley and foothill grassland, Vernal pools |
| Microhabitat: | |
| Microhabitat Details: | often vernal swales |
Conservation Status
| CA Rare Plant Rank: | 1B.1 |
| Global Rank: | G2 |
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State Rank: |
S2 |
| State List: | None |
| Fed List: | None |
| Other Status: | |
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CRPR Changes: |
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Occurrence Data from the CNDDB
| Total Occurrences: | 15 |
| Element Occurrence Ranks: | |
| Excellent (A) | 3 |
| Good (B) | 3 |
| Fair (C) | 1 |
| Poor (D) | 0 |
| None (X) | 0 |
| Unknown (U) | 8 |
| California Endemic: True | |
| California Counties and Islands: Name (Code) | |
| Napa (NAP), Solano (SOL), Yolo (YOL) | |
| Quads: Name (Quad Code) | |
| Allendale (3812148), Antioch North (3812117), Birds Landing (3812127), Denverton (3812128), Dozier (3812137), Elmira (3812138), Knoxville (3812273), Saxon (3812146) | |
Threat List Data from the CNDDB
| Threat List Total: | 5 | |
| EOs with Threat Listed: | Total EOs | % of EOs |
| 6 | 40 % | |
| Non-native plant impacts | 3 | 20% |
| Other | 2 | 13% |
| Disking | 2 | 13% |
| Development | 1 | 6% |
| Road/trail construction/maint. | 1 | 6% |
Notes
| Rediscovered in 2005 by B. Schafer, M. Widdowson, and R. Preston; last seen in 1892. Easily confused with P. acanthocarpus, P. trachycarpus, and other Plagiobothrys taxa. See Madroño 57(4):242-245 (2010) for discussion of rediscovery. |
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Threats: |
| Threatened by disking, development, and non-native plants. |
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Taxonomy: |
| See Contributions of the U.S. National Herbarium 22:79-113 (1920) for original description and Contributions from the Arnold Arboretum 3:5-82 (1932) for revised nomenclature. |
Selected References
| CRPR List Change on 2006-06-08 |
Citation
California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 20 November 2025].