Lessingia pectinata

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Lessingia pectinata is a California native annual herb found in open grasslands and coastal habitats at low elevations. Flowering from July to October, this plant produces delicate yellow flowers with distinctive purple-brown bands in the corolla tube, arranged in small heads approximately 5 to 8 millimeters wide. Growing with erect to spreading green stems 5 to 70 centimeters tall, the plant has a variable appearance ranging from tan to reddish-brown. Its leaves are oblong to ovate, featuring stalked and bead-like glands that give the foliage a distinctive textured appearance. The fruit is small, measuring 2 to 3 millimeters long, with a white to tan pappus that exceeds the fruit length.

California counties: Fresno, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Monterey

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