Rosy Owl's-clover

Orthocarpus bracteosus is native to western North America, from Northern California northward to the Trial Islands in British Columbia. There is a significant gap in the distribution between the Columbia River in southern Washington (Klickitat and Skamania Counties) and the populations in northwestern Washington and Vancouver Island. In Oregon, the plant is found on both sides of the Cascade Range. Its elevational range is 100–2,000 m (330–6,560 ft).

O. bracteosus is restricted to vernally wet meadows. It grows in graminoid-dominated habitats that experience summer drought and have high water tables in winter and spring, including vernal pools, wet meadows, depressions, and channels. Outside its native range, O. bracteosus has been documented once in Cayuga County, New York (in 1918) and once in Maryland (in 2001). The New York plant was a waif that did not reproduce.