Ericameria laricifolia
Turpentine-brush
(c) Sean Krieg, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Asteraceae · Type: Shrub · Native
Ericameria laricifolia (Turpentine-brush) is a native California shrub in the Asteraceae family, recognized by strong aromatic quality and radiate heads.
Turpentine-brush is a California native shrub found in the desert mountains in rocky canyons, pinyon and juniper woodland, and creosote-bush scrub at elevations of 1,000 to 2,000 meters. Flowering from September to October, this plant produces yellow flowers in radiate heads arranged in cyme-like clusters with 3 to 6 ray flowers and 8 to 11 millimeters long. Growing as an aromatic shrub 3 to 10 decimeters tall with glabrous, resinous stems that are gland-dotted, it has a distinctive branching structure. Its leaves are 10 to 30 millimeters long, generally cylindrical, glabrous, and marked with gland-dotted pits, sometimes forming small axillary leaf clusters. The fruit is a narrowly obconic structure 3.5 to 4 millimeters long, covered in white soft hairs and featuring a tan pappus 4 to 6 millimeters long.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 18 sympatric species; strong aromatic quality and radiate heads
Habitat and range
Habitat: Rocky canyons, pinyon/juniper woodland, creosote-bush scrub
Elevation: 1000-2000 m
Outside California: to Texas, northern Mexico
Bloom period
Ericameria laricifolia blooms Sep-Oct.
How to tell it apart
vs Isocoma: Ericameria has bracts in 5 vertical rows; Isocoma has randomly arranged bracts.; vs Chrysothamnus: Ericameria has woolly young stems and deep pitted glands; Chrysothamnus has smooth/slightly fuzzy stems and surface glands or none.; vs Baccharis: Ericameria has yellow bisexual flowers in each head; Baccharis has separate male/female plants with whitish flowers.; vs Artemisia: Ericameria has yellow flowers and gland-dotted leaves; Artemisia has greenish flowers and aromatic gray-hairy leaves.; vs Lepidospartum: Ericameria has small narrow leaves; Lepidospartum has scale-like leaves on green rush-like stems.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ericameria laricifolia native to California?
Yes. Ericameria laricifolia is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Ericameria laricifolia bloom?
Ericameria laricifolia blooms Sep-Oct.
What plant family does Ericameria laricifolia belong to?
Ericameria laricifolia is in the Asteraceae family, genus Ericameria.
What habitat does Ericameria laricifolia grow in?
Ericameria laricifolia grows in Rocky canyons, pinyon/juniper woodland, creosote-bush scrub.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
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.