Close-up of a flower and subtending bract of slender popcornflower as seen along the Goldendale-Glenwood Highway in the upper Klickitat Canyon.........April 13, 2007.
Characteristics:
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.
Slender popcorn flower is 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. The are tightly coiled at first but elongate with age. The flowers are white with small flowers. The petals are 2-4 mm wide. The calyx is 3-5 mm long at maturity.
Slender popcorn flower is common in dry, open fields and slopes at low elevations.
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.
In the Columbia River Gorge, it may be found between the elevations of 100'-3000' from the White Salmon River east to Brigs Junction, OR and hence east.
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