California Horkelia

Horkelia californica

California Horkelia (Horkelia californica) is a rare plant that I found in our oak grove. There are just a few patches along the dry bed of a brook. The only other flowering plants there right now is milkweed (Asclepias). So what can we deduce by looking at the plant?

Horkelia flower

Well, it is covered by by fuzz much like the plants of the borage family. Is it a member of Boraginaceae? No. The flower is rather small with five white petals? Could it be a member of Caryophyllaceae (Carnation family)? No. The plant belong to... Rose family. Yes, it does not resemble any known Rosaceae members except for the fact that it has 5 petals.

A flower before (or after) petals become white