Acamptopappus sphaerocephalus

Rayless goldenhead

Family: Asteraceae · Type: shrub · Native

Rayless goldenhead is a California native shrub found in desert and interior mountain regions in dry, open habitats at elevations typically above 1,000 meters. Flowering from May to October, this distinctive plant produces yellow disk flowers in rounded clusters 8 to 16 millimeters wide, notably lacking ray flowers. Growing with much-branched ascending to erect stems that form a rounded, compact shape, it reaches approximately 30 to 60 centimeters tall. Its leaves are slender and narrow, generally linear to oblanceolate, measuring less than 1.5 centimeters long and typically no wider than 3 millimeters. The compact, spherical flower heads create a unique golden-yellow texture across its desert and interior mountain habitats.

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.