Heterotheca grandiflora

Telegraph weed

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Telegraph weed is a California native perennial herb found in southern Northwest California, southern Sierra Nevada Foothills, southern Tehachapi, Great Valley, Central Western, Southwestern, and Desert regions in disturbed areas, dry streambeds, and sand dunes at elevations less than 1,100 meters. Flowering from June to October and occasionally throughout the year, this plant produces yellow ray flowers 5 to 8 millimeters long with numerous ray and disk flowers in flat-topped clusters. Growing with generally erect stems 10 to 250 centimeters tall that are densely bristly and glandular, especially toward the branch tips. Its leaves vary from basal rosettes with ovate to elliptic blades to mid-stem lanceolate leaves, with lower leaves clasping and hairy while upper leaves are less hairy and more glandular. The fruits are small, measuring 2 to 5 millimeters long, with ray fruits nearly glabrous and disk fruits slightly strigose.

Habitat: Disturbed areas, dry streambeds, sand dunes

Bloom period: Generally Jun-Oct(+- all year)

Elevation: < 1100 m

Bioregions: s NW, SNF, s Teh, GV, CW, SW, D (uncommon)

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