Agoseris hirsuta

Woolly goat chicory

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Woolly goat chicory is a California native perennial found in northern coastal, Sacramento Valley, and central western bioregions in grasslands, scrub, and occasional marshes at elevations generally below 500 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces bright yellow flowers with ligules 6 to 16 millimeters long that distinctively extend beyond the flower head. Growing 10 to 45 centimeters tall with an erect habit, it develops a robust perennial structure with white-opaque hairy stems. Its leaves are broadly to narrowly oblanceolate, typically 10 to 30 centimeters long with 5 to 7 pairs of lanceolate lobes that angle toward the leaf tip, creating a complex pinnately divided appearance. The fruit develops a slender, flexuous beak 6 to 10 millimeters long, which is often 1 to 3 times the length of its fusiform body.

Habitat: Grassland, scrub, marshes (rare)

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: generally < 500 m

Bioregions: NCoR, ScV, CW

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