Lessingia glandulifera var. peirsonii

Peirson's lessingia

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Peirson's lessingia is a California native annual found in southern Sierra Nevada foothills and eastern Transverse Ranges in dry foothill and desert wash habitats at elevations of 300 to 1,850 meters. Flowering from May to September, this plant produces small white to pale yellow flowers in clusters with distinctive glandular characteristics. Growing with delicate stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall that are sparsely hairy to densely woolly, it has a slender and somewhat fragile appearance. Its leaves are small, measuring 0.2 to 2 centimeters long, covered in a persistent woolly texture that gives the plant a soft, grayish-green appearance. In sandy soils along roadsides and desert washes, this annual herb creates ephemeral patches of subtle botanical interest.

Habitat: dry foothills, desert washes, roadsides, generally in sandy soil

Bloom period: May-Sep

Elevation: 300-1850 m

Bioregions: s SNF, e WTR.

California counties: Kern, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura, Mono, San Luis Obispo, Inyo

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