Tree · Sterculiaceae
California flannelbush
Fremontodendron californicum
California flannelbush is recorded as native to 1 state or territory in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in 34 counties of those states by USDA PLANTS.
Key facts · USDA PLANTS
California flannelbush at a glance
- Native in
- 34 counties, across 1 state or territory
- Estimated cold hardiness
- Zone 9b PLANTS minimum temperature 23°F
- Mature height
- 10 ft PLANTS mature height
- Light and water
- Full sun (shade-intolerant) Low water use
Estimated cold hardiness: zone 9b. PLANTS gives a minimum temperature of 23°F; zone 9b winters bottom out at 25°F, the coldest half-zone that stays within that limit.
California flannelbush is recorded as native to 1 state or territory in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in 34 counties of those states by USDA PLANTS.
Counties where it is native
The 15 counties with the most ZIP codes among the 34 where it is listed.
Native counties by state
- California 34 counties
Growing traits
Values from the PLANTS characteristics record. “Not recorded” means PLANTS has no value; nothing here is estimated except the zone.
Growth
- Growth habit
- Shrub, Tree
- Duration
- Perennial
- Mature height
- 10 ft
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth form
- Multiple Stem
- Shape
- Erect
- Lifespan
- Moderate
- Active growth period
- Spring and Summer
Light and water
- Shade tolerance
- Intolerant (full sun (shade-intolerant))
- Moisture use
- Low water use
- Drought tolerance
- High
- Tolerance of waterlogged soil
- None
- Precipitation range
- 13 to 35 in per year
Soil
- Soil textures
- Coarse and medium
- pH range
- 7 to 7.5
- Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance
- Low
- Salinity tolerance
- None
- Fertility requirement
- Low
- Minimum root depth
- 6 in
Climate
- Minimum temperature
- 23°F
- Estimated cold hardiness
- Zone 9b and warmer
- Minimum frost-free days
- 200
- Fire tolerance
- High
Flowers, leaves and fruit
- Flower color
- Yellow
- Showy flowers
- Yes
- Bloom period
- Late Summer
- Foliage color
- Green
- Showy in fall
- No
- Keeps leaves
- Yes
- Fruit color
- Black
Other
- Toxicity
- None
- Nitrogen fixation
- None
- Nursery availability
- Contracting Only
- Family
- Sterculiaceae
- PLANTS symbol
- FRCA6
Source & data date
- Source
- USDA NRCS PLANTS Database: county distribution records, native status and plant characteristics. CC0 (public domain dedication, per the data.gov catalog record).
- Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP): native or introduced status by state. CC BY 3.0.
- USGS US-RIIS (ver. 2.0): species listed as introduced are excluded. CC0.
- Citation
- USDA, NRCS. 2026. The PLANTS Database (https://plants.usda.gov, 11/04/2026). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC USA.
- Govaerts R. (ed.) (2026). WCVP: World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Data file dated 2026-06-04, http://sftp.kew.org/pub/data-repositories/WCVP/ (retrieved 2026-11-04). Paper: Govaerts R. et al. (2021) The World Checklist of Vascular Plants, a continuously updated resource for exploring global plant diversity. Scientific Data 8, 215.
- Data date
- Retrieved from PLANTS on November 4, 2026; WCVP data file dated June 4, 2026.
- Scope
- Fremontodendron californicum (PLANTS symbol FRCA6).
- Method
- A species is listed when it is recorded as native to the state in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in the county by USDA PLANTS. Species PLANTS labels both native and introduced are listed separately. Full method · All sources