Holocarpha macradenia
Santa cruz tarplant, Santa Cruz Tarplant
Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native
Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1 · Threatened
Santa cruz tarplant is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native annual found in central coastal Monterey Bay and southwestern San Francisco Bay regions in grassy areas with clay soil at elevations below 200 meters. Flowering from June to November, this plant produces yellow flowers with 8 to 16 ray flowers and 40 to 90 disk flowers with distinctive red to dark purple anthers. Growing 10 to 50 centimeters tall with notably stalked-glandular stems that form tight or spike-like clusters of flower heads, it has a distinctive glandular appearance. Its leaves are arranged along the stem, contributing to the plant's delicate and intricate structure. The flower heads are nearly spherical, with phyllaries featuring approximately 25 pit-gland-tipped outgrowths that give the plant a unique textural quality.
Habitat: Grassy areas, clay soil
Bloom period: Jun-Nov
Elevation: < 200 m
Bioregions: CCo (n&c Monterey Bay, extirpated elsewhere), sw SnFrB (introduced e SnFrB).
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.