About Ravenella exigua (Rattan) Morin
Ravenella exigua produces several long stems that contain milky sap and bear sparse, tiny leaves. Each stem ends in a bell-shaped bright blue-violet flower, and this species blooms during May and June. This plant is endemic to Mount Diablo, located in the northern Diablo Range within Contra Costa County, the East Bay region of northern California. As its common name chaparral bellflower suggests, it is part of the chaparral ecosystem. It grows primarily in serpentine soils at elevations between 300 and 1,250 metres (980 to 4,100 ft). It grows alongside other Mount Diablo and regional endemic plants, all of which depend on natural fire ecology conditions.
