An early spring flower (March to May) that is very noticeable, is rusty-haired popcorn flower, or Plagiobothrys nothofulvus. It grows mostly below 2500 feet in fields and along hillsides. The popcorn appearance results from the clustering of a few small white flowers in a small coil at the top of the plant. The flower (corolla) is very small, from 3-9 mm wide, and the hairy areas are tinged with a rusty color. There are five white petals, and at the center, a five-lobed “washer” center that varies from white to yellow. It is not a butterfly flower, but is visited by very small insects.

(Figueroa Mountain – Rusty-haired Popcorn Flower – Click image for larger version)

(Figueroa Mountain – Rusty-haired Popcorn Flower – Click image for larger version)

(Figueroa Mountain – Rusty-haired Popcorn Flower – Click image for larger version)

“Though not showy, taken singly, they often cover the fields, presenting the appearance of a light snowfall, from which fact the Spanish-Californians have bestowed the pretty name “nievitas,” the diminutive of nieve, snow.” (1)

Native American uses include the harvesting of the leaves as edible greens, and a purple dye from the stems and root. (2)

References:

1. The Wild Flowers of California By Mary Elizabeth Parsons
2. Native American Ethnobiology by Daniel E. Moreman