Layia septentrionalis

Colusa layia

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Colusa layia is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native annual found in central North Coast Ranges Interior and the Sutter Buttes in serpentine or sandy soils at elevations of 100 to 900 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces yellow ray flowers 4 to 15 millimeters long with bright yellow disk flowers arranged in ellipsoid to bell-shaped heads. Growing 6 to 35 centimeters tall with purple-streaked stems that are glandular and not strongly scented, it develops a delicate, branching form. Its leaves range from 4 to 70 millimeters long, linear to lanceolate, with proximal leaves often deeply lobed nearly to the midvein. The fruit features ray fruits that are glabrous or sparsely hairy, with a distinctive pappus of 16 to 22 white, plumose bristles.

Habitat: Serpentine or sandy soils

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 100-900 m

Bioregions: c&amps NCoRI, ScV (Sutter Buttes)

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