Pacific Popcorn Flower, Slender Plagiobothrys, Slender Popcorn Flower: Plagiobothrys tenellus (Synonym: Plagiobothrys asper)

The photo above shows slender popcorn flower as seen in the upper Klicktat River Canyon of south-central Washington..........April 13, 2007. Note the cluster of basal leaves covered with stiff hairs and the several widely-spaced stem leaves which alternate along the stem.

Key identifying characteristics: Short stature (5-25 cm tall), plants with a basal cluster of leaves and few stem leaves, smaller white flowers with petals from 2-4 mm wide.

Also known as Pacific popcorn flower, slender popcorn flower is a small taprooted annual with one or several ascending to erect stems rising from 5-25 cm high. If several stems are present, the branching occurs near the base. The herbage is somewhat pubescent with coarse or stiff hairs. The leaves are all alternate and mostly clustered in a basal tuft which persists through bloom. The basal leaves are sessile and range from 0.7-3 cm long and 2-8 mm wide. The reduced stem leaves are few and scattered along the stem. The stem leaves are lanceolate in shape.

The racemes are single or sometimes paired. They are tightly coiled at first but elongate with age. The flowers are white with small flowers. The 5 petals are spread 2-4 mm wide. The calyx is 3-5 mm long at maturity with the lobes longer than the tube.

Slender popcorn flower is common in dry, open fields and slopes at low elevations up to 1700 meters in elevations. It is often found amongst sagebrush or beneath ponderosa pine.

Slender popcorn flower may be found from southern British Columbia south to the east of the Cascades of Washington and Oregon to Baja California. It maybe found eastward to western Idaho, Nevada and Utah.

The photo above shows slender popcorn flower as seen in the upper Klicktat River Canyon of south-central Washington............April 13, 2007.

These photos shows slender popcorn flower as seen in the upper Klicktat River Canyon of south-central Washington..........April 13, 2007.

This photo shows the fruits of slender popcorn flower as seen in the Klickitat Wildlife Area in the upper upper Rock Creek drainage of south-central Washington..........June 5, 2020.