Chaenactis parishii

Parish's chaenactis, Parish's Chaenactis

Family: Asteraceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Parish's chaenactis is a rare (CNPS 1B.3) California native shrub found in the eastern Peninsular Ranges, specifically in the San Jacinto Mountains and Cuyamaca Peak area, in rocky to sandy openings of chaparral and woodland at elevations of 1,300 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces white to pale pink flowers in small clusters, with delicate disc-like heads. Growing with multiple branching stems 20 to 40 centimeters tall, it features a distinctive felty, white-hairy appearance that gives the plant a soft, grayish texture. Its leaves are pinnately lobed with 2 to 5 pairs of flat, deltate-shaped blade segments, typically 1 to 5 centimeters long and covered in gland-pitted hairs. The fruit is 6 to 8 millimeters long, topped with a pappus of 10 to 16 scales arranged in 3 to 4 nearly equal series.

Habitat: Rocky to sandy openings in chaparral, woodland

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 1300-2500 m

Bioregions: e PR (gen SnJt, Cuyamaca Peak area)

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