Microseris campestris

San joaquin microseris

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

San joaquin microseris is a California native annual found in the Sierra Nevada Foothills, Great Valley, eastern Central Western California, and southern California coastal areas in open clay grasslands and near vernal pools at elevations below 500 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces yellow or white flowers in delicate heads 5 to 12 millimeters wide. Growing with slender, upright stems 5 to 50 centimeters tall, it emerges as a graceful scapose annual with an elegant, open structure. Its leaves are 3 to 20 centimeters long and generally lobed, creating a soft, feathery appearance across the grassland landscape. The fruit is distinctive, 3 to 5 millimeters long, often gray or pale brown with dark spots, and crowned with delicate curved pappus scales.

Habitat: Open clay grassland, often near vernal pools

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: < 500 m

Bioregions: SNF, GV, e CW, SCo (rare).

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