Tehama County Western Flax
(Hesperolinon tehamense )
Linaceae (flax family)

Photo Copyright Roxanne Bittman and CNPS

Description: Herbaceous annual, 3/4 to 20 inches (2 to 50 cm) tall, branching in upper half of plant.  Leaves alternate, linear, 3/8 to 11/4 inches (0.5 to 3 cm) long.  Flowers branching from leaf nodes.  Flowers are light to bright yellow, petals 1/8 to 5/16 inch (4 to 8 mm) long with notch in tip, having 3 styles and 6 ovary chambers.

Distribution: Within the public lands administered by the Redding Field Office, this species can be found on the west side of the Sacramento Valley in the foothills of the Inner Coast Ranges in Tehama County.

Habitat: Openings in mixed chaparral on serpentine soils at elevations from 328 to 3280 feet (100 to 1000 meters).

Flowering Period: May to July

Similar Plants: A similar species,Hesperolinon andenophylium, differs in that its leaves are lanceolate to ovate, clasping with margins that are clearly glandular or gland-toothed. Another similar species, Herperolinon bicarpellatum, also differs in that it only has two styles and four ovary chambers.

Status: BLM Sensitive, California Native Plant Society List 1B