California rockflower facts for kids

Quick facts for kids California rockflower
Scientific classification
Genus:	Crossosoma
Species:	californicum

The California rockflower (Crossosoma californicum) is a special kind of flowering plant. It's part of a small plant family called Crossosomataceae. This plant is pretty rare, with only a few types of plants in its whole family!

Where Does It Grow?

The California rockflower naturally grows in a few specific places. You can find it on San Clemente Island and Santa Catalina Island. These are two of the Channel Islands located off the coast of California. It also grows on Guadalupe Island, which is off the coast of Baja California in Mexico.

On the mainland, this plant is found in only one spot in California. This special place is the Portuguese Bend Nature Preserve. It's located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County.

What Does It Look Like?

The California rockflower can be a shrub or a small tree. It can grow up to 5 meters (about 16 feet) tall. Its stem has many branches that are tipped with thorns.

The branches are covered with pale green leaves. These leaves have visible veins and are oval or rounded in shape. They can grow up to 9 centimeters (about 3.5 inches) long.

This plant produces single flowers. Each flower has round, white petals that are about 1 to 1.5 centimeters long. In the middle of the flower, you'll see many stamens. Stamens are the parts that produce pollen. There are also one to five separate carpels, which are the parts that will develop into seeds.