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Hydrangeaceae
Bush Anemone
Carpenteria californica
California wild beauty.
- Family
- Hydrangeaceae
- Genus
- Carpenteria
- Native to
- California
- Bloom season
- Spring, Summer
- Type
- shrub
- Height
- 4-8 ft
- Sunlight
- full sun to part shade
- Soil
- well-drained, sandy, rocky
- Water
- low to moderate
- Hardiness
- 7-9
- Lifespan
- perennial
Did you know
- It is a monotypic genus, meaning Carpenteria californica is the only species, found naturally in a tiny area of the Sierra Nevada foothills.
- Fewer than 1,500 wild plants remain, making it one of California's rarest native shrubs.
- The fragrant white flowers resemble large mock-orange blooms and can measure up to 3 inches across.
- The genus was named after Professor William Carpenter, a Louisiana botanist, by John Torrey in 1853.
- Despite its extreme rarity in the wild, it is widely available in nurseries and gardens, a conservation success story through cultivation.
Color meanings
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wild beauty
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rarity
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purity