Rank Species | Genus Limnanthes Higher classification Limnanthes | |
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Similar Limnanthes, Limnanthaceae, White meadowfoam, Layia platyglossa, Nemophila menziesii | ||
Limnanthes douglasii is a species of annual flowering plant in the family Limnanthaceae (meadowfoam) commonly known as Douglas' meadowfoam or poached egg plant. It is native to California and Oregon, where it grows in wet, grassy habitat, such as vernal pools and spring meadows. It can grow in poorly drained clay soils. The plant was collected by the Scottish explorer and botanist David Douglas, who worked on the west coast of America in the 1820s.
The plant usually bears white flowers with yellow centers, hence the name "poached egg plant", but flower color can vary across subspecies. It is a popular ornamental plant. It attracts hoverflies to the garden to eat the aphids and is well loved by bees. It is self-seeding, and gardeners are often careful as to where the seeds fall as it will quite happily grow in a lawn.
This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
There are five subspecies:
