California Harebell

Smithiastrum prenanthoides is a perennial herb with an erect branching stem 0.6–0.9 m high. The stem is slightly puberulent. The slender leaves range from 10 to 60 mm in length and usually have a toothed margin and a pointed apex. The leaves are attached to the stem by very short petioles, usually less than 5 mm long, and the upper leaves on the stem are usually sessile. They are wider toward the base with two small teeth on each side. The nodding flowers are blue-purple and appear on a panicle in groups of 3–5. The pedicel is variable in length, between 6–20 mm. The sepals are spreading to reflexed and the calyx is fused into an obconic tube covering less than half the length of the corolla. The corolla, fused at the base, is divided into 5 slender petals that are distinctly recurved at their tips. The stamens are 6 mm long with ciliate base. The ovary is 2.5–5 mm in diameter and hemispheric. The style, 15–18 mm long, is noticeably exserted beyond the sepals and petals and may be slightly curved. It is likewise blue and the distal half is papillate. The stigma is clavate and has 3 short curved divisions. Smithiastrum prenanthoides blooms in June and July. The fruit is a hemispheric dehiscent capsule with prominent ribbing. The pores are distributed at or below the middle of the capsule. The oblong seeds are 2 mm long.

Smithiastrum prenanthoides is native to California and Oregon. It grows in the temperate coniferous forests of the Klamath Ranges, Cascade Range, Coastal Ranges, and part of the Sierra Nevadas. It is associated with redwood forest, yellow pine forest, red fir forest, and mixed evergreen forest. It is found at elevations of 50–2000 m.

In cultivation, Smithiastrum prenanthoides requires part shade and moist soil with good drainage. It may be a host for Hyles lineata, the white-lined sphinx moth. Historically, the bulbs of Smithiastrum prenanthoides were consumed as a winter food by Ohlone peoples.