Brickellia atractyloides var. arguta

Pungent brickellbush, Pungent Brickellbush

Family: Asteraceae · Type: shrub · Native

Pungent brickellbush is a California native shrub found in the Desert bioregion on mountain slopes and washes at elevations of 100 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces cream flowers often tinged with purple in compact clusters with distinctive lance-shaped phyllaries. Growing with branching stems up to one meter tall, it forms a dense, multi-stemmed shrub with an upright habit. Its leaves are ovate, 10 to 20 millimeters long and 5 to 15 millimeters wide, with serrated edges and a mixture of erect glandular and glandless hairs giving the foliage a textured appearance. The plant produces 40 to 55 flowers in each inflorescence, creating a delicate yet robust botanical display.

Habitat: mountain slopes, washes

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 100-1500 m

Bioregions: D

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