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Willowy Monardella
Monardella viminea
  
8 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About Willowy Monardella (Monardella viminea) 8 Nurseries Carry This Plant Willowy Monardella (Monardella viminea) is an extremely rare native perennial herb in the Lamiaceae (Mint) family that grows almost exclusively in San Diego County and northern Baja. It is listed as Endangered at the federal level and is included in CNPS list 1B.1. Within San Diego it is found in small isolated occurrences within three watersheds, no more than 30 miles from the coast. Only eight naturally occurring locations are known to exist. This species was formerly classified as a subspecies of Monardella linoides, and many sources still list it that way.

Despite its rarity and protected status, this plant has been propagated and is sometimes available at nurseries. It has a delightful fragrance. The pink to lavender flowers are quite attractive, and it does well in containers. Although it can be tricky to provide the right soil and water conditions, it is recommended for coastal gardens in the southern part of the state.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Perennial herb

Size
Size
0.8 - 1.6 ft tall
2 - 4 ft wide

Dormancy
Dormancy
Summer Semi-Deciduous

Fragrance
Fragrance
Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color
Flower Color
Lavender, Pink

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Summer

Wildlife Supported
 
Numerous insects including butterflies

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 4 likely * ) SHOW ALL
*
Pyrausta perrubralis Image
Shasta Pyrausta Pyrausta perrubralisPyrausta perrubralis
*
Pyrausta californicalis Image
California Pyrausta Moth Pyrausta californicalisPyrausta californicalis
*
Argyrotaenia franciscana Image
Orange Tortrix Moth Argyrotaenia franciscanaArgyrotaenia franciscana
*
Anstenoptilia marmarodactyla Image
Anstenoptilia marmarodactylaAnstenoptilia marmarodactyla

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun, Part Shade

Moisture
Moisture
Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 2x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 8

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 25° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast

Soil Description
Soil Description
This plant is fairly picky about soil, requiring coarse sand or decomposed granite along with cobbles and larger rocks. Soil PH: 6.5 - 7.8

Common uses
Common uses
Bird Gardens, Hummingbird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Wild companions include Eriogonum fasciculatum (California Buckwheat), Platanus racemosa (sycamore), Artemisia californica (California Sagebrush), Baccharis sarothroides (coyotebush), and Quercus agrifolia (Coast Live Oak). It the garden it can be used with any other chaparral or sage scrub plants that need similar soil and water conditions.

Maintenance
Maintenance
Can be deadheaded if desired to encourage more flowering

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
In the wild this plant is found on marine terraces, mesas, benches, and stabilized sandbars along ephemeral drainages in coastal sage scrub or riparian scrub habitat. These semi-open washes and drainage areas typically contain little to no canopy cover and are maintained by large intermittent water flows that erode and deposit alluvial material, developing benches and sandbars.

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 7.9" - 21.2", Summer Precipitation: 0.24" - 1.70", Coldest Month: 39.8" - 54.4", Hottest Month: 70.1" - 77.3", Humidity: 1.33" - 22.64", Elevation: 122" - 5118"

Alternative Names
Botanical Names: Monardella linoides ssp. viminea


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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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