| Hackelia californica | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | (unplaced) |
| Family: | Boraginaceae |
| Genus: | Hackelia |
| Species: | H. californica |
| Binomial name | |
| Hackelia californica (Gray) I.M.Johnst. |
|
Hackelia californica is a species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common name California stickseed. It is native to the mountains of northern California and southern Oregon, where it is a resident of mountain forests and meadows. This leafy perennial herb grows in tall clumps and produces erect stems up to a meter in maximum height. The lance-shaped leaves are longest and most abundant near the base of the plant, where the longest are about 17 centimeters long. The tips of the stems have few leaves and are occupied by cyme inflorescences of white flowers. Each flower has five lobes with a small petallike appendage at its base. The fruit is a prickly nutlet about 4 millimeters wide.