Jensia yosemitana

Yosemite tarplant

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 3.2

Yosemite tarplant is a native annual found in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in meadows and sandy sites at elevations of 1,200 to 2,300 meters. Flowering from May to August, this delicate plant produces small yellow flowers in compact heads with narrow phyllary bracts. Growing as a slender, branching annual with thin stems reaching 10 to 30 centimeters tall, it spreads across open mountain meadow landscapes. Its leaves are narrow and thread-like, measuring 10 to 50 millimeters long and only 1 to 2 millimeters wide, giving the plant a graceful, wispy appearance. The plant's compact flowering structure and fine, linear leaves make it a subtle but distinctive component of high-elevation Sierra Nevada habitats.

Habitat: Meadows, sandy sites

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: 1200-2300 m

Bioregions: SNH.

California counties: Fresno, Mariposa, Tulare, Tuolumne, Calaveras, Santa Clara, Amador, Madera, El Dorado

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