Layia leucopappa

Comanche point layia, Comanche Point Layia

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1

Comanche point layia is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native annual found on the western edge of the Tehachapi Mountains and southern San Joaquin Valley at elevations of 100 to 350 meters in grassy or open heavy soil. Flowering from March to April, this plant produces white ray flowers 3 to 12 millimeters long with yellow to brownish disk flowers in heads 4 to 10 millimeters wide. Growing 8 to 60 centimeters tall with straw-colored stems that are glandular and not strongly scented, it has a delicate, spreading form. Its leaves are oblong to oblanceolate, less than 5 centimeters long, slightly glaucous, with proximal leaves often partially lobed and scabrous-ciliate edges. The fruit features ray fruits that are sparsely hairy with a pappus of 10 to 13 white, lanceolate scales 2 to 3.5 millimeters long.

Habitat: Grassy or open heavy soil

Bloom period: Mar-Apr

Elevation: 100-350 m

Bioregions: w edge Teh (Comanche Point, Tejon Hills), s SnJV (extirpated).

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