Brickellia desertorum

Desert brickellbush

Family: Asteraceae · Type: shrub · Native

Desert brickellbush is a California native shrub found in southern Sierra Nevada, eastern South Coast, San Gabriel Mountains, San Bernardino Mountains, Peninsular Ranges, and desert regions in dry hillsides and canyons at elevations of 200 to 1,400 meters. Flowering from September to May, this plant produces white flowers in cylindric heads 8 to 10 millimeters long arranged in panicle-like clusters. Growing with intricately branched stems 80 to 200 centimeters tall that are densely puberulent and often gland-dotted, it forms a complex and textured shrub. Its leaves are opposite or alternate, with ovate blades 3 to 15 millimeters long, featuring crenate to serrate edges and slightly tomentose surfaces. The fruit is 2 to 3 millimeters long with 12 to 15 smooth or minutely barbed pappus bristles.

Habitat: dry hillsides, canyons

Bloom period: Sep-May

Elevation: 200-1400 m

Bioregions: s SN, e SCo, SnGb, SnBr (Whitewater Canyon), PR, D

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