Deinandra bacigalupii

Livermore tarplant

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1

Livermore tarplant is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native annual found in the northwestern San Joaquin Valley, specifically in the Livermore Valley of eastern Alameda County, in alkaline meadows and edges of alkali barrens at elevations of 100 to 200 meters. Flowering from June to October, this plant produces deep yellow ray flowers 2 to 4 millimeters long in flat-topped or panicle-like clusters. Growing 10 to 40 centimeters tall with an open, branching habit, it has coarse, glandular-hairy stems that become increasingly branched toward the top. Its proximal leaves are entire or irregularly lobed, covered with a mixture of coarse hairs and stalked glands that give the plant a distinctive, slightly sticky appearance. The flower heads feature both ray and disk flowers, with disk flowers producing yellow to brownish anthers and a unique fringe-edged pappus of 8 to 13 awl-shaped scales.

Habitat: Alkaline meadows, edges of alkali barrens or sinks

Bloom period: Jun-Oct

Elevation: 100-200 m

Bioregions: nw SnJV (Livermore Valley, e Alameda Co.).

California counties: Alameda, Contra Costa

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