Helenium puberulum
Rosilla
(c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Asteraceae · Type: Herb · Native
Helenium puberulum (Rosilla) is a native California herb in the Asteraceae family, recognized by . Key features: often rayless, large receptacle diameter, short pappus scales.
Rosilla is a California native perennial herb found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, California high country, Sierra Nevada foothills, Central Valley, central western California, western Transverse Ranges, and western Peninsular Ranges in streambanks, seepage areas, and lake margins at elevations up to 1,200 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces yellow disk flowers with reddish-brown to purple tips in heads 9 to 15 millimeters wide, lacking ray flowers. Growing with a single strongly winged stem 50 to 160 centimeters tall that branches toward the top, it has a robust and distinctive appearance. Its leaves range from oblanceolate basal leaves to oblong-elliptic cauline leaves, all generally glabrous or sparsely hairy. The fruit is small, approximately 1.2 to 1.9 millimeters long with 5 to 6 short-awned pappus scales.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 3 sympatric species. Key features: often rayless, large receptacle diameter, short pappus scales
Habitat and range
Habitat: Streambanks, seepage areas, lake margins
Elevation: < 1200 m
Outside California: Baja California
Bloom period
Helenium puberulum blooms Jun-Aug.
How to tell it apart
vs Rudbeckia: Rudbeckia has a dark purple-brown cone; Helenium has a yellow or greenish spherical disk.; vs Cotula: Cotula lacks ray flowers entirely; Helenium has yellow rays around the spherical disk.; vs Hymenoxys: Hymenoxys has deeply dissected ferny leaves; Helenium leaves are entire or shallowly lobed.; vs Oncosiphon: Oncosiphon lacks ray flowers and has finely divided ferny leaves; Helenium has rays and simple to lobed leaves.; vs Helianthella: Helianthella has flat disks with erect phyllaries; Helenium has spherical disks with reflexed phyllaries.
Frequently asked questions
Is Helenium puberulum native to California?
Yes. Helenium puberulum is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Helenium puberulum bloom?
Helenium puberulum blooms Jun-Aug.
What plant family does Helenium puberulum belong to?
Helenium puberulum is in the Asteraceae family, genus Helenium.
What habitat does Helenium puberulum grow in?
Helenium puberulum grows in Streambanks, seepage areas, lake margins.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
- Helenium sp. — Sneezeweed
- Helenium amarum var. amarum — Yellowdicks
- Helenium autumnale — Common sneezeweed
- Helenium bigelovii — Bigelow's sneezeweed
- Helenium bolanderi — Bolander's sneezeweed
- Helianthella californica — California helianthella
- Helianthella californica var. californica — California helianthella
- Helianthella californica var. nevadensis — California helianthella
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.