Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Phoenicaulis cheiranthoides is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common names daggerpod and wallflower phoenicaulis. It is a small herb of sagebrush country in the inland western United States. It has pink or light purple flowers, and is one of the first plants to bloom in the spring in its area. The fruit is lance-shaped, long compared to its width, and rather hard when dry, from which the common name "daggerpod" derives. It thrives in rocky volcanic soils as well as clay, and likes open, sunny areas in the sagebrush scrub. It is the only member of this genus, although the similar plant Anelsonia eurycarpa is sometimes treated in synonymy with this genus as P. eurycarpa.

Plant type

Perennial herb

Calscape icon
Color

Pink, Purple

Sun

Partial Shade

Plant communities

Lodgepole Forest, Red Fir Forest, Sagebrush Scrub, Shadscale Scrub, Subalpine Forest, Yellow Pine Forest

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 2 likely

Confirmed Likely

Western White

Pontia occidentalis

Checkered White

Pontia protodice