Purple Owl’s Clover Seeds (Castilleja exserta)
 
Purple Owl’s Clover is one of Arizona’s most eye-catching spring wildflowers and one that native plant lovers actively search for. With its deep purple to magenta bracts, soft silvery foliage, and classic paintbrush form, this species creates unforgettable color in open landscapes after winter rains. It’s highly sought after by Arizona gardeners, restoration projects, and wildflower enthusiasts who recognize it from Sonoran Desert grasslands, desert edges, and foothill slopes during especially beautiful bloom years.
 
In Arizona, Purple Owl’s Clover is prized because it captures that fleeting, magical spring moment, the kind you see along back roads, open desert flats, and grasslands when conditions line up just right. As a true annual paintbrush, it thrives on cool winter moisture and bursts into bloom in early spring, putting on a bold show before summer heat arrives. Pollinators flock to it, photographers chase it, and native gardeners know to grab it when it’s available, because it’s not something you see every year or everywhere.
 
🦉 Where the Name “Owl’s Clover” Comes From
 
The common name “Owl’s Clover” comes from the flower’s distinctive shape. When viewed from above, the paired bracts and soft, rounded structure resemble the face of a small owl, with the central flower forming a “beak” between two darker lobes. Early botanists and wildflower enthusiasts used this imagery long before photography was common, and the name stuck.
 
The genus name Castilleja honors Domingo Castillejo, an 18th-century Spanish botanist, while the species name exserta refers to the way the flower parts extend outward from the bracts.
 
Native Range
 
Purple Owl’s Clover (Castilleja exserta) is native to the Southwestern United States, including:
 
Arizona (especially southern and central regions)
California
Southern Nevada
Southwestern Utah

Growing Information
 
Botanical Name: Castilleja exserta
Common Name: Purple Owl’s Clover
Life Cycle: Annual that readily re-seeds
Height: 6–18 inches
Light: Full sun
Soil: Well-drained, sandy or loamy soils
Hardiness: USDA Zones 7–11
Bloom Time: Early to mid-spring
How to Grow From Seed
Best sown in fall or early winter
Surface sow or cover very lightly
Cold, moist conditions encourage germination - while cold stratification is not required, it is best to plant them when it is cool with a gradual warming into spring
Germinates as a winter annual and blooms in spring
Readily reseeds under the right conditions
 
This is for 100 seeds
 
We combine shipping on all seed orders, you pay one flat fee for as many seeds as you would like for no additional shipping. Orders over $35 for any combination of items ship for free to the US!