Taxon Report

Mucronea californica Benth.

California spineflower

Print Report

Taxon Summary

Mucronea californica, commonly known as California spineflower, is a annual herb in the Polygonaceae that is found only in California. It occurs within Chaparral, Cismontane woodland, Coastal dunes, Coastal scrub, and Valley and foothill grassland, growing at elevations from 0 to 1400 meters. Mucronea californica is ranked 4.2, Plants of Limited Distribution, A Watch List; Moderately threatened in California.

Classification


Scientific Name:	Mucronea californica Benth.
Common Name:	California spineflower
Family:	Polygonaceae
Element Code:	PDPGN0F010
USDA Plants Symbol:	MUCA3
Synonyms/Other Names:	Chorizanthe californica (Benth.) Gray var. suksdorfii Macbr.

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	annual herb
Blooming Period: Mar-Jul(Aug)	Mar-Jul(Aug)
Elevation:	0-1400 (0-4595)
General Habitats:	Chaparral, Cismontane woodland, Coastal dunes, Coastal scrub, Valley and foothill grassland
Microhabitat:	Sandy
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	4.2
Global Rank:	G3
State Rank:	S3
State List:	None
Fed List:	None
Other Status:	SB_CalBG/RSABG
CRPR Changes:

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB


Total Occurrences:	0
Element Occurrence Ranks:
Excellent (A)	0
Good (B)	0
Fair (C)	0
Poor (D)	0
None (X)	0
Unknown (U)	0

Location


California Endemic: True
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Los Angeles (LAX), San Diego (SDG), San Luis Obispo (SLO), Santa Barbara (SBA)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
Arroyo Grande NE (3512025), Caliente Mtn. (3511917), Camatta Ranch (3512043), Lompoc (3412064), Los Alamos (3412063), Morro Bay South (3512037), Oceano (3512015), Orcutt (3412074), Otay Mesa (3211658), Pismo Beach (3512026), Point Conception (3412044), Point Loma (3211762), Sisquoc (3412073), Sunland (3411833), Surf (3412065), Venice (3311884), Zaca Creek (3412062)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB


Threat List Total:	0
EOs with Threat Listed:	Total EOs	% of EOs
	0	0 %

Notes



Rare in southern California. Many herbarium records old. Threatened by aggregate mining, vehicles, flood control modification, urbanization, and water percolation projects. Possibly threatened by non-native plants. Includes Chorizanthe californica var. suskdorfii. See Phytologia 66(3):203-205 (1989) for revised nomenclature.
Threats:

Taxonomy:

Selected References

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 31 January 2025].