Mt. Diablo jewelflower facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mt. Diablo jewelflower |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Streptanthus
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| Species: |
hispidus
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The Mt. Diablo jewelflower (scientific name: Streptanthus hispidus) is a very special and rare flowering plant. It belongs to the mustard family, just like the mustard you might put on a hot dog!
Where It Lives
This unique plant only grows in one special place: Contra Costa County, California. You can find it on and around Mount Diablo. There are fewer than 15 known spots where this plant grows in the wild.
It likes to grow in rocky areas within grassland and chaparral habitats. These are places with open fields and areas with dense shrubs.
But this little plant faces some challenges. Its home can be damaged by people walking off trails, which is called trampling. Sometimes, its habitat also gets disturbed during maintenance work in the area.
What It Looks Like
The Mt. Diablo jewelflower is a small, hairy plant that lives for about a year. It can grow up to 30 centimeters (about 12 inches) tall.
Its flowers grow in a cluster called a raceme, which is like a stalk with many flowers. The flowers at the very top are often different and don't produce seeds.
The plant has bristly, bell-shaped parts called a calyx. These are made of small leaf-like parts called sepals. In flowers that can produce seeds, the calyx is greenish-brown. In the flowers that don't produce seeds, it's purple.
The flowers that can produce seeds have four light purple petals. Each petal can be up to one centimeter long. After the flower blooms, it produces a bristly fruit called a silique. This fruit can grow up to 8 centimeters (about 3 inches) long.
