Lagophylla minor

Lesser hareleaf

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Lesser hareleaf is a California native annual found in northern Sierra Nevada foothills in El Dorado County, growing in openings of chaparral and woodland on serpentine at elevations of 70 to 900 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces white flowers with ray petals 7 to 13 millimeters long in panicle-like clusters. Growing 8 to 30 centimeters tall with a meandering, zigzag main stem that is glandless or sparingly glandular, it displays an irregular branching pattern. Its leaves range from green proximal leaves that are glandless to distal leaves with purple and occasional yellow glands, creating a subtle color variation. The fruit is notable for its shiny surface, lacking striations.

Habitat: Openings in chaparral, woodland, on serpentine

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 70-900 m

Bioregions: NCoRI, n SNF (El Dorado Co.).

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