Flower profile

Desert prince's plume

Stanleya pinnata

Desert prince's plume (Stanleya pinnata) is a low shrub in the Brassicaceae family, native in the lower 48 states, blooming mostly April–June across the U.S.

Native in the lower 48

Desert prince's plume is a wildflower that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. It's on our flower lists for 2 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in April–June.

15states where USDA records it

2Bloomipedia state lists include it

4,855U.S. sightings*

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

On our lists for: Nevada, Utah

Quick look

Stanleya pinnata is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known as desert prince's-plume. It is a perennial herb or shrub native to North America.
From Wikipedia's article Stanleya pinnata, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Brassicaceae family. ^iNaturalist
USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) / a subshrub with a perennial life cycle. ^{USDA PLANTS}
USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 15 states. ^{USDA PLANTS}
NatureServe lists it as native to Utah and Nevada. ^NatureServe
In Utah, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in April–June. ^iNaturalist
In Nevada, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in April–June. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 1,724 research-grade sightings of it in Utah, ranking #19 among the 153 flowers on our Utah list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 812 research-grade sightings of it in Nevada, ranking #41 among the 132 flowers on our Nevada list. ^iNaturalist

When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (788 records)

Bloom time in the 2 states whose Bloomipedia list includes it

State	Type	Peak bloom	Sightings*
Utah	Native	April–June	1,724
Nevada	Native	April–June	812

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
Utah: No list Utah has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Utah ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Utah.
Nevada: Not listed Not on Nevada fully protected plants, critically endangered (NAC 527.010). NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Nevada. ^{NAC 527.010}
Rare elsewhere: No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.

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), USDA PLANTS) 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 records desert prince's plume in 15 states.

AKMEVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILWIMINYRIMAORNVWYSDIAINOHPANJCTCAUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFL

recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming.

Utah counties with USDA records: Beaver, Box Elder, Carbon, Daggett, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Piute, Rich, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Washington, Wayne.

Nevada counties with USDA records: Carson City, Churchill, Clark, Douglas, Elko, Esmeralda, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, Storey, Washoe, White Pine.

Names, range and relatives

County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 148 counties across 15 states; the most are in Colorado (22), Utah (22), Kansas (17).

More from the Brassicaceae family (24 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): Garlic mustard, Dame's rocket, Cut-leaved toothwort, Wild radish, Milkmaids, Annual honesty, Western wallflower, Hoary alyssum.

More Utah flowers

Crossflower

Chorispora tenella

Introduced

🌼 Blooms in UT: March–May

Woad

Isatis tinctoria

Introduced

🌼 Blooms in UT: April–June

Annual honesty

Lunaria annua

Introduced

🌼 Blooms in UT: April–May

Sources

USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile STPI.
iNaturalist, Stanleya pinnata: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Stanleya pinnata (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Utah: Utah noxious weed list (Utah Admin. Code R68-9-3).
Nevada: Nevada fully protected plants, critically endangered (NAC 527.010).
Nevada: Nevada noxious weeds (NAC 555.010).
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
NatureServe Explorer, Stanleya pinnata (global and state ranks).
Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
Photo: Michael J. Papay via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.