Amphipappus fremontii

Chaffbush

Family: Asteraceae · Type: shrub · Native

Chaffbush is a California native shrub found in desert and interior mountain habitats at elevations where arid landscapes dominate. Flowering from spring to early summer, this plant produces delicate yellow ray flowers in small clusters of 2 to 4 heads, with white or pale green involucres. Growing to less than 2 meters tall with widely spreading branches, it forms a distinctive white and gray-colored shrub with thorny leafless stems. Its alternate leaves are small, less than 2 centimeters long, with obovate or elliptic shapes in light yellow or gray-green coloration. The plant's fruit is characterized by ray fruits under 3 millimeters long, accompanied by a pappus of 15 to 20 stout bristles fused at the base.

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