Ivesia aperta
Sierra valley mousetail
(c) Jim Morefield, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Rosaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Ivesia aperta (Sierra valley mousetail) is a native California herb in the Rosaceae family, recognized by needs morphological differentiation from congeners.
Sierra valley mousetail is a California native perennial found in alpine and subalpine meadows at high elevations. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces small yellow flowers in compact clusters 10 to 20 millimeters wide. Growing with tufted stems 15 to 45 centimeters tall, it forms a green to white-hairy clump with a compact caudex. Its finely divided leaves have 20 to 35 leaflet pairs on each side, with small elliptic to oblanceolate lobes 3 to 15 millimeters long. The delicate fruit is smooth and brown, measuring 2 to 3 millimeters in length.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 13 sympatric species; needs morphological differentiation from congeners
Habitat and range
California counties: Sierra, Plumas, Nevada
How to tell it apart
vs Achillea: Ivesia has rose-like flowers with separate petals; Achillea has composite flower heads with ray and disk flowers.; vs Potentilla: Ivesia has cylindrical bottlebrush leaves with 4-80 tiny leaflets per side; Potentilla has flat leaves with spread-out leaflets.; vs Horkelia: Ivesia has cylindrical leaves with overlapping leaflets; Horkelia has flat leaves with 2-15 distinct, separated leaflets.; vs Eremogone: Ivesia has compound bottlebrush leaves; Eremogone has simple, needle-like or thread-like leaves.; vs Cryptantha: Ivesia has rose-family flowers with separate petals; Cryptantha has fused tubular corollas typical of borages.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ivesia aperta native to California?
Yes. Ivesia aperta is native to California (recorded as native).
Where in California does Ivesia aperta grow?
Ivesia aperta occurs in Sierra, Plumas, Nevada.
What plant family does Ivesia aperta belong to?
Ivesia aperta is in the Rosaceae family, genus Ivesia.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
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.