Agoseris retrorsa

Spear leaved agoseris

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Spear leaved agoseris is a California native perennial found in the foothills and inner coast ranges in scrub, oak woodland, and conifer forest at elevations of 900 to 1,800 meters. Flowering from April to August, this plant produces yellow flowers in heads 20 to 30 millimeters wide, with rosy-purple phyllary bases that add distinctive coloration. Growing 10 to 65 centimeters tall with erect stems and purple-tinged petioles, it develops a robust herbaceous form. Its leaves are distinctively long and linear to lance-elliptic, typically 10 to 30 centimeters long with 7 to 9 pairs of lance-linear lobes angled toward the leaf base, covered in white-opaque hairs. The fruit develops a slender beak 15 to 25 millimeters long, characteristic of this agoseris species.

Habitat: Scrub, oak woodland, conifer forest

Bloom period: Apr-Aug

Elevation: generally 900-1800 m

Bioregions: CA-FP (exc coast, GV, ChI)

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