Caulanthus inflatus
species of plant

Caulanthus inflatus, the desert candle, also referred to as squaw cabbage, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Mojave Desert of California and Nevada, and the southern Sierra Nevada and Transverse Ranges in the United States. It is found at elevations between 150–1,500 metres (490–4,920 ft).
Description
Caulanthus inflatus is an annual plant growing up to 70 cm (28 in) in height, with a thick, swollen, (ventricose) hollow stem that is "conspicuously inflated" with an unspecified gas, and looks like a yellow candle. The basal leaves are 2–7 cm (0.8–2.8 in) long, smaller higher up the stem. The flowers are small, with four reddish-purple petals. and six stamens.
References
Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Jon Mark Stewart, 1998, pg.
“Caulanthus inflatus” enters the record as species of plant. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Caulanthus, inflatus and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Caulanthus inflatus” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Caulanthus, inflatus and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 27, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q2943097. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1998.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
- Current terminology
- Classification context
- Finding cited technical literature
Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Caulanthus inflatus”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Caulanthus inflatus primary sources, Caulanthus inflatus archive and Caulanthus research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Caulanthus inflatus”?
- Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
- Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Caulanthus inflatus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.