Agoseris heterophylla var. cryptopleura

Mountain dandelion

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Mountain dandelion is a California native annual found in northern California regions including the Sierra Nevada Foothills, Tehachapi, Great Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, and southern coastal ranges in open habitats at elevations of 150 to 1,000 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces yellow flowers with ligules 10 to 15 millimeters long that open well into the day. Growing with slender stems 15 to 40 centimeters tall, it develops a delicate, branching form. Its leaves have 3 to 5 pairs of lobes, with secondary lobes generally present and surfaces somewhat hairy. The fruit displays highly variable characteristics with reduced ribs toward the base of the plant.

Habitat: Many open habitats

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: generally 150-1000(2000) m

Bioregions: NCoRI, SNF, Teh, GV (uncommon, generally near edges), SnFrB, SCoR, WTR.

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