Cota tinctoria

Golden marguerite

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Golden marguerite is a naturalized perennial herb found in the northern Sierra Nevada Mountains in disturbed areas, roadsides, and garden escapes at elevations below 2,000 meters. Flowering with yellow ray flowers 6 to 12 millimeters long in heads 2.5 centimeters in diameter, this plant produces bright golden daisy-like blossoms. Growing with erect hairy stems less than 30 centimeters tall, it spreads from cultivated garden origins. Its finely divided leaves have ultimate lobes that are linear or narrowly oblong, giving the plant a delicate, feathery appearance. The plant's phyllaries are silvery-hairy with often ciliate margins, adding to its distinctive textural quality.

Habitat: Uncommon. Escape from cultivation, persisting from gardens, disturbed areas, roadsides

Elevation: < 2000 m

Bioregions: n SNH

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