Centromadia parryi

Pappose tarweed

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Pappose tarweed is a California native perennial found in grasslands and open plains at elevations of 0 to 1,000 meters. Flowering from May to October, this plant produces yellow flowers with distinctive disk anthers that range from yellow to brown or deep reddish-purple in heads 2.5 to 10 millimeters wide. Growing with erect stems 10 to 70 centimeters tall, it develops a variable leaf surface that can be glabrous, scabrous-puberulent, or covered in coarse to soft hairs. Its leaves are characterized by occasional yellow glandular surfaces, creating a textured appearance across the plant. The fruit features a distinctive pappus of 3 to 5 linear or awl-shaped scales that aid in seed dispersal.

California counties: Orange, San Luis Obispo, Napa, Santa Barbara, Lake, Monterey, Alameda, Solano

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