NATIVEHabit: Perennial herb, subshrub, forming thorny mats 1--2 dm, < 7 dm diam.
Stem: glabrous to short-stiff-hairy, +- glaucous.
Leaf: 4--20 mm, ovate to elliptic or obovate, scattered short-sharp-hairy; base tapered to rounded.
Inflorescence: prominently thorn-tipped.
Flower: 7.5--13.5 mm; sepal wings pink; keel petal beak 1.4--4 mm, prominently notched below, yellow.
Fruit: 4.2--7.8 mm including stalk.
Seed: 3--4.4 mm including hairs; seed body widely elliptic to round in ×-section, hairier near aril; aril glabrous.
Chromosomes: 2n=36.
Ecology: Rocky areas in desert scrub;
Elevation: 900--1600 m.
Bioregional Distribution: DMtns (Funeral Mtns, Inyo Co.);
Distribution Outside California: southern Nevada.
Flowering Time: Apr--May
Synonyms: Polygala heterorhyncha (Barneby) T. Wendt
Unabridged Synonyms: Polygala subspinosa S. Watson var. heterorhyncha BarnebyJepson eFlora Author: Robert E. Preston & Thomas L. Wendt
Reference: Wendt 1979 J Arnold Arbor 60:504--514; Abbott 2011 JBRIT 5:125--137
Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange)Listed on CNPS Rare Plant Inventory
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