Pericome caudata

Mountain tail leaf

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Mountain tail leaf is a California native perennial found in southern Sierra Nevada, southeastern Sierra Nevada, and Desert Mountains in canyons, rocky slopes, pinyon and juniper woodland, and riparian areas at elevations of 1,200 to 2,550 meters. Flowering from July to October, this plant produces white or cream flowers in heads approximately 4.5 to 6 millimeters in diameter. Growing with much-branched stems up to 2 meters tall that are slightly hairy and resin-dotted, it forms an open, spreading habit. Its leaves vary from 3 to 12 centimeters long, with rounded to heart-shaped bases that are sometimes toothed or shallowly lobed in the lower half. The fruit is 3.5 to 5 millimeters long with small pappus scales and occasionally 1 to 2 unequal bristles.

Habitat: Canyons, rocky slopes, pinyon/juniper woodland, riparian

Bloom period: Jul-Oct

Elevation: 1200-2550 m

Bioregions: s SN, SNE, DMtns

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