Micropus californicus var. californicus

Cottontop, Cottontop

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Cottontop is a California native annual found in California Floristic Province (except eastern Sierra Nevada and San Jacinto Mountains) in clearings and often disturbed dry or seasonally moist soils at elevations of 10 to 1,600 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces small white flower heads approximately 3 to 4 millimeters long with woolly paleae. Growing with delicate stems typically low to the ground, the plant develops compact clusters of tiny flower heads. Its leaves are small and relatively inconspicuous, characteristic of its adaptation to dry, open habitats. The fruit is compact, measuring 1.8 to 2.6 millimeters long with a minimal disk pappus.

Habitat: Clearings, often disturbed, dry or seasonally moist soils

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: 10-1600 m

Bioregions: CA-FP (exc e SNH, SnJt)

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