Encelia virginensis
Encelia
(c) Stan Shebs, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · licence
Family: Asteraceae · Type: Shrub · Native
Encelia virginensis (Encelia) is a native California shrub in the Asteraceae family, recognized by lightly canescent leaves and single radiate heads.
Encelia is a California native shrub found in the eastern Mojave Desert and Mojave Desert Mountains on desert flats, rocky slopes, and roadsides at elevations of 500 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from March to June and in December, this plant produces yellow disk flowers in heads with 11 to 21 white ray flowers 8 to 15 millimeters long. Growing with slender branches 50 to 150 centimeters tall, it has young stems that are hairy and older stems with fissured bark. Its scattered leaves are narrowly ovate to triangular, 1.2 to 2.5 centimeters long, gray-green in color with sparse stiff hairs and a soft, light covering. The fruit is 5 to 8 millimeters long, typically without a pappus.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 5 sympatric species; key features are lightly canescent leaves and single radiate heads
Habitat and range
Habitat: Desert flats, rocky slopes, roadsides
Elevation: 500-1500 m
Outside California: to southwestern Utah, New Mexico
Bloom period
Encelia virginensis blooms Mar-Jun, Dec.
How to tell it apart
vs Helianthus: Woody shrub with permanent stems vs. soft-stemmed annual/perennial herb.; vs Salvia: Yellow daisy flowers in Asteraceae vs. tubular flowers with two lips in mint family.; vs Bahiopsis: Generally coastal/desert scrub habitat vs. more restricted range in Bahiopsis.; vs Verbesina: Woody shrub form vs. herbaceous in Verbesina.; vs Geraea: Woody perennial shrub vs. annual herb in desert dandelion (Geraea).
Frequently asked questions
Is Encelia virginensis native to California?
Yes. Encelia virginensis is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Encelia virginensis bloom?
Encelia virginensis blooms Mar-Jun, Dec.
What plant family does Encelia virginensis belong to?
Encelia virginensis is in the Asteraceae family, genus Encelia.
What habitat does Encelia virginensis grow in?
Encelia virginensis grows in Desert flats, rocky slopes, roadsides.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
- Encelia actoni — Acton encelia
- Encelia californica — Bush sunflower
- Encelia farinosa — Brittlebush
- Encelia farinosa × Encelia frutescens
- Encelia farinosa var. farinosa
- Encelia farinosa var. phenicodonta
- Enceliopsis covillei — Panamint daisy
- Enceliopsis nudicaulis var. corrugata — Ash Meadows daisy
- Enceliopsis nudicaulis var. nudicaulis — Naked-stemmed daisy
- Enceliopsis sp. — Sunray
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.