How to Grow and Care for Linanthus

The flowers of Linanthus californicus have needle-like extensions coming out of their leaves. It’s not commonly called “prickly phlox” for nothing! These flowers open during the morning and close by day’s end. The specific epithet of “Californicus” in its scientific name tells you that this species is native to the U.S.'s Golden State.

This is an annual herb producing a thin stem up to about 20 centimetres tall. The leaves are linear in shape to needle-like and unlobed, measuring 1 to 3 centimetres long. The inflorescence is a small array of white flowers with lobes just under a centimetre long. They are sometimes lavender-tinted and open in the evening.

The inflorescence is an open array of vespertine flowers with throats surrounded by membranous, ribbed sepals with needle-like teeth. The funnel-shaped flowers are under a centimeter wide when open and mostly white in color, with yellowish coloring in the throats and purple tinting on the outer surfaces.

Evening snow, with its star-shaped white to pale blue flowers, flourishes in sandy or rocky soils typically found in desert and scrub environments. This annual bursts into bloom after rainfall, creating a distinctive contrast with its arid surroundings. It stands erect with slender, forking stems and narrow leaves that minimize water loss, exhibiting an adaptation to its dry habitat.

Linanthus dianthiflorus is an annual herb producing a very thin, hairy stem no more than about 12 centimeters long. The leaves are linear to threadlike and unlobed, reaching up to 2 centimeters long. The inflorescence bears several leaves and one or more flowers with hairy leaflike sepals.