About Streptanthus hispidus A.Gray
Streptanthus hispidus is a bristly annual herb that reaches up to 30 centimeters in height. Its flowers are arranged in a raceme, where the uppermost flowers are often sterile and differ in form from fertile flowers. The bristly, bell-shaped calyx made of sepals is greenish brown in fertile flowers and purple in sterile flowers. Fertile flowers have four light purple petals that grow up to one centimeter long. The fruit is a bristly silique that can reach up to 8 centimeters in length. This plant is endemic to Contra Costa County, California, where it is found in fewer than 15 occurrences on and around Mount Diablo. It grows on rocky outcrops in grassland and chaparral habitats. It is threatened by habitat degradation, including trampling by hikers and destruction during maintenance activities.
