Gamochaeta calviceps

Narrowleaf purple everlasting

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Narrowleaf purple everlasting is a naturalized annual found in northern Sierra Nevada foothills, San Joaquin Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, Sierra Nevada-Cascade foothills, and Peninsular Ranges in disturbed sites at elevations of 50 to 800 meters. Flowering from June to July, this plant produces white flower heads with distinctive purple-tipped corollas in clusters initially 2 to 4 centimeters wide. Growing 8 to 45 centimeters tall with erect-ascending stems that are felty-tomentose with silver-gray hairs arranged longitudinally, it has a branched structure throughout. Its leaves range from oblanceolate to spoon-shaped near the base, becoming linear to linear-oblanceolate higher on the stem, with felty-tomentose surfaces and blades often folded along the midvein. The plant forms spike-like head clusters that become increasingly panicle-like, with peduncles generally visible between flower heads.

Habitat: Disturbed sites

Bloom period: Jun-Jul

Elevation: 50-800 m

Bioregions: n SNF, SnJV, SnFrB, SnGb, PR

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