Helianthella californica

California helianthella

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

California helianthella is a native perennial found in California's interior mountain ranges and coastal regions in grasslands, chaparral, and oak woodlands at elevations of 200 to 1,600 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces bright yellow ray flowers 1 to 2 centimeters long surrounded by yellow disk flowers, creating distinctive sunflower-like blooms. Growing with stems 10 to 60 centimeters tall that range from smooth to coarsely hairy, it develops an upright and somewhat branching form. Its leaves are arranged alternately along the stem, with lower leaves typically broader and somewhat oval-shaped while upper leaves become progressively smaller and narrower. The fruit is thin and obovate, measuring 6 to 8 millimeters long with occasionally minimal pappus scales.

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