Flower profile

California manroot

Marah fabacea

California manroot (Marah fabacea) is a flowering plant in the Cucurbitaceae family, blooming mostly January–April across the U.S.

Native to California

California manroot is a flowering plant. In California it's most often seen in bloom in January–April.

–states where USDA records it

13,931CA sightings*

13,931U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: California

Quick look

Marah fabacea, the California manroot or bigroot, is the most common of the manroot species native to California. Its range throughout the state subsumes nearly the entire ranges of all the other California native manroots species and intergrades. Hybrids between California manroot and other species of Marah are common.
From Wikipedia's article Marah fabacea, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family. ^iNaturalist
NatureServe lists it as native to California. ^NatureServe
In California, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in January–April. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 13,931 research-grade sightings of it in California, ranking #55 among the 178 flowers on our California list. ^iNaturalist

When does it bloom?

In California, most flowering sightings come in January–April.

Flowering records by month in California (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (2,221 records)

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe global: G5 Secure worldwide. ^NatureServe
California: Not listed Not on California state-listed endangered, threatened and rare plants (14 CCR § 670.2), per CDFW's CNDDB list (July 2026). NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in California. ^{CNDDB listed plants (July 2026)}
Rare elsewhere: Other states where NatureServe ranks it rare or missing: NV (S1). (S1 critically imperiled, S2 imperiled, SH possibly extirpated, SX presumed extirpated.)

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant)) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS has no state-by-state distribution for this name, so we can't map it yet.

Names, range and relatives

Other Marah on Bloomipedia (2): Chilicothe, Coastal manroot.

More from the Cucurbitaceae family (7 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): Buffalo gourd, Creeping cucumber, Bitter melon, Oneseed bur cucumber, Ivy gourd.

More California flowers

Chilicothe

Marah macrocarpa

Native

🌼 Blooms in CA: January–April

California poppy

Eschscholzia californica

★ CA state flowerNative

🌼 Blooms in CA: March–May

California buckwheat

Eriogonum fasciculatum

Native

🌼 Blooms in CA: April–July

Sources

USDA PLANTS: no profile matched this name.
iNaturalist, Marah fabacea: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Marah fabacea (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
California: California state-listed endangered, threatened and rare plants (14 CCR § 670.2), per CDFW's CNDDB list (July 2026).
California: California noxious weed species (3 CCR § 4500).
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
NatureServe Explorer, Marah fabacea (global and state ranks).
Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
Photo: Anne Parsons via iNaturalist · CC0 · resized.