Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Lewisia brachycalyx is a species of flowering plant in the purslane family known by the common name shortsepal lewisia. It is native to the mountains of the southwestern United States and Baja California, where it grows in moist habitat such as meadows. It is a perennial herb growing from a short thick taproot and caudex unit. It produces a basal rosette of thick, fleshy, blunt-tipped narrow leaves up to 8 centimeters long. The flower cluster is under 4 centimeters tall, taking the form of a cluster of several flowers sitting atop the leaf rosette. Each flower has 5 to 9 shiny white or pink petals about 2 centimeters long. At the center are many stamens and stigmas clumped together.

Plant type

Perennial herb

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Color

Pink, White

Special uses

Containers

Sun

Partial Shade

Site type

Wet meadows, open

Plant communities

Yellow Pine Forest, Wetland-Riparian