Chaenactis glabriuscula var. heterocarpha
Inner coast range pincushion, Inner Coast Range Pincushion
Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native
Inner coast range pincushion is a California native annual found in southern Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, northern California, Cascade Ranges, northern and central Sierra Nevada Foothills, central Sierra Nevada, Sacramento Valley edges, and central western California in slopes, ridges, and openings in chaparral and woodland, generally on serpentine or shale at elevations of 100 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces white to cream-colored flowers in heads 1 to 5 per stem, with involucres 6 to 10 millimeters long. Growing 6 to 40 centimeters tall with generally 1 to 5 erect to spreading stems and branches both proximal and distal, it has a distinctive growth pattern. Its leaves are 1 to 6 centimeters long, with largest blades that are 2-pinnately lobed, having 2 to 7 pairs of slightly curled or twisted leaf lobes. The fruit ranges 4 to 9 millimeters long, with an inner pappus of 7 to 8 scales in two unequal series.
Habitat: Slopes, ridges, openings in chaparral, woodland, generally serpentine or shale
Bloom period: Mar-Jun
Elevation: 100-1500(1900) m
Bioregions: s KR, NCoRH, NCoRI, CaR, n&c SNF, c SNH, ScV edges, CW (exc CCo), rare w WTR.
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.