Madia sp.
Tarweed, tarplant, Tarplant
Family: Asteraceae · Type: Annual · Native
Madia sp. (Tarweed) is a native California annual in the Asteraceae family.
How to tell it apart
vs Anisocarpus: Madia has absolutely no pappus on disk flowers; Anisocarpus has 5-21 scales forming a pappus on disk flowers.; vs Deinandra: Madia has ray fruits completely hidden by bracts and no disk pappus; Deinandra has exposed ray fruits and disk pappus present.; vs Layia: Madia has bright yellow rays and no disk pappus; Layia often has white or bicolored rays and hairy disk pappus.; vs Hemizonia: Madia has fruits completely wrapped by bracts; Hemizonia has fruits only partly enclosed by bracts.; vs Lagophylla: Madia has yellow rays and no pappus; Lagophylla has white rays and scale-like pappus on disk flowers.
Frequently asked questions
Is Madia sp. native to California?
Yes. Madia sp. is native to California (recorded as native).
What plant family does Madia sp. belong to?
Madia sp. is in the Asteraceae family, genus Madia.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
- Madia subspicata
- Madia anomala — Plump seeded madia
- Madia citrigracilis — Shasta tarweed
- Madia citriodora — Lemon scented tarweed
- Madia elegans — Common madia
- Madia exigua — Little tarweed
- Malacothrix californica — California dandelion
- Malacothrix clevelandii — Cleveland's dandelion
- Malacothrix coulteri — Snake's-head
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-04-14
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.