Leptosyne bigelovii

Bigelow coreopsis

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Bigelow coreopsis is a California native annual wildflower found in southern Sierra Nevada Foothills, Tehachapi, southern Coastal Ranges, Transverse Ranges, desert mountains, and northern Sonoran Desert in open woodlands, grasslands, and desert habitats at elevations of 150 to 2,000 meters. Flowering from February to June, this plant produces bright yellow ray flowers 5 to 25 millimeters long spreading around a central disk. Growing 10 to 30 centimeters tall with one to many erect stems, the plant has a delicate, upright form. Its finely divided leaves are predominantly basal, with blade segments 1 to 2 millimeters wide, linear and grooved on the upper surface. The fruit is distinctive, with ray fruits 3.5 to 6 millimeters long, brown or tan-splotched, and disk fruits 4 to 6 millimeters long with a central row of hairs along the inner surface.

Habitat: Open woodland, grassland, desert

Bloom period: Feb-Jun

Elevation: 150-2000 m

Bioregions: s SNF, Teh, SCoR, TR, DMoj, n DSon.

California counties: Kern, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Inyo, Fresno, San Luis Obispo, San Diego, Monterey

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