Caulanthus inflatus, the desert candle, also referred to as squaw cabbage, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Mojave Desert of California and Nevada, and the southern Sierra Nevada and Transverse Ranges in the United States. It is found at elevations between 150–1,500 metres (490–4,920 ft).
Caulanthus is a genus of plants in the family Brassicaceae. Plants of this genus may be known as jewelflowers. They are also often referred to as wild cabbage, although this common name usually refers to wild variants of Brassica oleraceae, the cabbage plant. Jewelflowers are native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where they are often found in warm, arid regions. Many species have an enlarged, erect stem rising from a basal rosette of leaves. Flowers arise directly from the surface of the stem; many species have colorful, bell-shaped flowers. The best-known of the fourteen species is probably the desert candle.
Caulanthus heterophyllus is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common names San Diego wild cabbage and San Diego jewelflower.
Guillenia lasiophylla is a species of mustard plant known by the common names California mustard and slenderpod jewelflower. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to northern Mexico. It can be found in a variety of habitats such as desert flats, gravelly areas, limestone rocks, talus slopes, sandy banks, and grassy fields. This is a thin-stemmed erect annual herb with long lobed, toothed leaves surrounding the base of the plant and smaller leaves lining the stem. The top of the plant is occupied by an inflorescence of flowers, each with widely spaced oval-shaped white or yellowish petals half a centimeter long. The fruit is a flat, narrow silique up to 7 centimeters long which hangs downward from the stem. Flowers bloom March to June.
Abronia turbinata is a species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family known by the common name transmontane sand-verbena. It is native to eastern California and Oregon and western Nevada, where it grows in desert and plateau scrub.
Caulanthus amplexicaulis is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common name claspingleaf wild cabbage.
Caulanthus californicus is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common names California jewelflower and St. Francis cabbage.
Caulanthus coulteri is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common name Coulter's wild cabbage.
Caulanthus crassicaulis is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common name thickstem wild cabbage. It is native to the western United States where it is a member of the flora in sagebrush, woodland, and desert scrub habitats. This is a perennial herb producing a stout, inflated stem from a woody caudex base. The leaves form a basal rosette and occur at intervals along the stem. They are broadly lance-shaped on the lower stem and much smaller and linear in shape farther up. They may have smooth, toothed, or deeply cut edges. The rounded flower has a coat of thick, pouched sepals which part at the flower tip to reveal narrow dark purple or brown petals. There are two varieties of this species: var. crassicaulis generally has hairy flowers, while var. glaber has hairless. The fruit is a long, thin silique which may approach 13 centimeters in length.
Caulanthus hallii is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common name Hall's wild cabbage.
Caulanthus pilosus is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common names hairy wild cabbage and chocolate drops. It is native to open, dry habitat in the Great Basin of Nevada, the Eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada to 9,000 ft (2,700 m) and surrounding regions of the United States northward to the SE corner of Oregon. It is an annual or occasionally perennial herb coated in thin hairs, especially toward the base.
Caulanthus simulans is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common names Payson's wild cabbage and Payson's jewelflower. It is endemic to southern California, where it is known mainly from open, dry habitat in the hills and deserts of Riverside and San Diego Counties. It is a bristly annual herb with deeply cut leaves, the longest arranged in cluster around the base of the stem. The flower is covered in thick, purple-tinted greenish sepals which split to reveal narrow, pale yellow petals at the tip. The fruit is a silique up to 8 centimeters long.
Cirsium mohavense is a species of thistle known by the common names virgin thistle and Mojave thistle. It is native to the southwestern United States, where it grows in moist areas in otherwise dry habitat, such as desert springs. It is most common in the Mojave Desert, found also in the southern Great Basin and other nearby regions of California, Nevada, western Arizona, and southwestern Utah.
Cleomella brevipes is a species of flowering plant in the cleome family known by the common name shortstalk stinkweed. It is native to the Mojave Desert and adjacent hills, where it grows in wet alkaline environments such as mineral-rich desert hot springs. It is an annual herb producing a rough, waxy, red stem up to about 45 centimeters tall. The stem is lined with many small fleshy leaves, each divided into three leaflets. Flowers appear in the leaf axils all along the stem, often all the way down to the base. Each grows at the end of a short, erect pedicel. The flower has four tiny yellow sepals and four tiny yellow petals. The fruit is a somewhat rounded, hanging capsule developing at the end of the remaining flower receptacle.
Cleomella parviflora is a species of flowering plant in the cleome family known by the common name slender stinkweed. It is native to eastern California and western Nevada, where it grows in desert and sagebrush scrub in the Mojave Desert and southern parts of the Great Basin. It is an annual herb producing a smooth, hairless, reddish stem up to about 45 centimeters tall. There are a few leaves, each made up of three elongated, fleshy leaflets. Most of the flowers are located in a raceme at the tips of the stem branches, and there may be a few solitary flowers in the axils of the leaves. Each flower has four tiny pale yellow petals, each about 2 millimeters long. The fruit is a lobed, valved capsule which hangs on the tip of the remaining flower receptacle.
Acmispon haydonii, synonyms Lotus haydonii and Syrmatium haydonii, is a species of legume native to California It is known by the common names pygmy lotus, rock bird's-foot trefoil and Haydon's lotus.
Acmispon parviflorus, synonym Lotus micranthus, is a species of legume. It is known by the common name desert deervetch. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to southern California, where it is known from many types of habitat. It is a hairy to hairless annual herb lined with leaves each made up of small oval leaflets. Solitary flowers appear in the leaf axils. Each is an ephemeral pinkish pealike bloom under a centimeter long. The fruit is a narrow, hairless, wavy-edged legume pod up to about 2.5 centimeters long.
Streptanthus brachiatus is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name Socrates Mine jewelflower. It is endemic to the Inner North Coast Ranges of California north of the San Francisco Bay Area. It can be found in chaparral and woodland habitat, often on serpentine soils, in Sonoma, Lake, and Napa Counties. It is a biennial herb producing a branching stem up to about 60 centimeters in maximum height. There is a basal rosette of fleshy purple-green leaves around the base, each with a sharp-toothed, widely lance-shaped blade up to 4 centimeters long. Leaves higher on the stem vary in shape. Flowers occur at intervals along the upper stem. Each has an urn-shaped calyx of keeled yellowish or purplish sepals just under a centimeter long. White, purple, or purple-veined white petals emerge from the tip. The fruit is a thin, narrow silique which may be up to 6 centimeters in length.
Streptanthus morrisonii is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name Morrison's jewelflower. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the North and Central Coast Ranges. It is limited to serpentine soils in chaparral and forest habitat. It is considered a species complex which includes Streptanthus brachiatus. S. morrisonii is divided into four subspecies and is variable. In general, it is a biennial herb producing a hairless, waxy stem up to 1.2 to 1.5 meters in maximum height, often branching at the tip. The basal leaves have fleshy, lance-shaped blades 3 to 5 centimeters long borne on petioles. The blades are gray-green on the upper surface and purple or purple-mottled underneath. Leaves higher on the stem are variable in shape and become smaller toward the top of the plant. Flowers occur at intervals along the upper stem. Each has an urn-shaped calyx of keeled sepals in shades of yellow-green to purple. The petals emerging from the tip are whitish with purple-brown veining. The fruit is a flattened straight or slightly curved silique up to 8 centimeters long.
Lewisia maguirei is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Montiaceae known by the common name Maguire's lewisia, or Maguire's bitterroot. It is endemic to Nevada in the United States, where it is known only from eastern Nye County.
