Holocarpha virgata

Narrow tarplant

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Narrow tarplant is a California native annual found in annual grassland habitats at elevations from 10 to 500 meters. Flowering from May to November, this plant produces yellow flowers with distinctive heads featuring 3 to 8 ray flowers and 9 to 25 disk flowers with reddish to dark purple anthers. Growing 20 to 120 centimeters tall with stems notably covered in stalked glandular hairs, the plant has a branching structure that creates raceme- or spike-like flower clusters. Its leaves are linear to narrowly lance-shaped, arranged alternately along the stems with minimal pubescence. The flower heads are obconic to bell-shaped, with phyllaries featuring 5 to 20 gland-tipped outgrowths that contribute to the plant's distinctive appearance.

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