Centromadia parryi subsp. australis

Southern tarplant, Southern Tarplant

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1

Southern tarplant is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native perennial found in southern California coastal regions in salt marshes, grassland, vernal pools, and coastal scrub at elevations below 200 meters. Flowering from June to October, this plant produces yellow flowers with distinctive ray flowers 2 to 4 millimeters long and disk flowers with red to dark purple anthers. Growing to 30 to 60 centimeters tall with softly hairy stems that are coarsely stalked-glandular with yellow glands, it has a robust and somewhat sprawling habit. Its leaves are softly to coarsely hairy, with stalked glandular surfaces that give the plant a distinctively textured appearance. The flower heads have paleae with two purple lines along the inner edges of their scarious margins, adding to the plant's unique botanical character.

Habitat: Salt marshes, grassland, vernal pools, coastal scrub

Bloom period: Jun-Oct

Elevation: < 200 m

Bioregions: SCo

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