Taxon Summary

Calycadenia spicata, commonly known as spicate calycadenia, is a annual herb in the Asteraceae that is . It occurs within Cismontane woodland, and Valley and foothill grassland, growing at elevations from 40 to 1400 meters. Calycadenia spicata is ranked 1B.3, Plants Rare, Threatened or Endangered in California and Elsewhere; Not very threatened in California.

Classification


Scientific Name:	Calycadenia spicata (Greene) Greene
Common Name:	spicate calycadenia
Family:	Asteraceae
Element Code:	PDAST1P090
USDA Plants Symbol:	CASP2
Synonyms/Other Names:

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	annual herb
Blooming Period: May-Sep	May-Sep
Elevation:	40-1400 (130-4595)
General Habitats:	Cismontane woodland, Valley and foothill grassland
Microhabitat:	Adobe, Clay, Disturbed areas, Dry, Gravelly, Openings, Roadsides, Rocky
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	1B.3
Global Rank:	G3?
State Rank:	S3
State List:	None
Fed List:	None
Other Status:
CRPR Changes:	added to 1B.3 on 2023-05-17

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB


Total Occurrences:	41
Element Occurrence Ranks:
Excellent (A)	0
Good (B)	4
Fair (C)	0
Poor (D)	0
None (X)	0
Unknown (U)	37

Location


California Endemic: False
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Amador (AMA), Butte (BUT), Calaveras (CAL), El Dorado (ELD), Fresno (FRE), Kern (KRN), Nevada (NEV), Placer (PLA), Sacramento (SAC), San Joaquin (SJQ), Stanislaus (STA), Tulare (TUL), Tuolumne (TUO), Yuba (YUB)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
Auberry (3711914), Biggs (3912146), Buffalo Creek (3812152), Camp Far West (3912113), Carbondale (3812141), Clarksville (3812161), Clay (3812132), Cooperstown (3712065), Farmington (3712088), Folsom (3812162), Giant Forest (3611857), Glennville (3511866), Goose Creek (3812131), Grass Valley (3912121), Hamlin Canyon (3912166), Honcut (3912135), Ione (3812038), Irish Hill (3812048), Jenny Lind (3812017), Keystone (3712075), Knights Ferry (3712076), La Grange (3712064), Lake Isabella South (3511854), Lincoln (3812183), Loma Rica (3912134), Millerton Lake East (3711915), Oroville (3912155), Palermo (3912145), Pine Mountain (3511857), Shadequarter Mtn. (3611858), Shippee (3912156), Valley Springs (3812027), Wallace (3812028)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB


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

Notes



Formerly widespread but local at eastern edge of Central Valley and adjacent Sierra Nevada foothills.
Threats:
Possibly threatened by vehicles, development, habitat loss, inappropriate grazing, alteration of fire regimes, non-native plants, and pollution (nitrogen deposition).
Taxonomy:
A distinctive species with stems simple or branched only above the middle, peduncular bracts with only a single tack-shaped gland at the tip, phyllaries and paleae with many tack-shaped glands, and corolla white turning red with age.

Selected References

Proposed Addition to 1B.3, G2G3 / S2S3 (2023)

Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 9: 15–17 (1882)

Flora Franciscana, pp. 420–424 (1897)

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 13 July 2025].

Taxon Report

Calycadenia spicata (Greene) Greene

spicate calycadenia