Pseudobahia heermannii

Foothill sunburst, brittlestem, Brittlestem

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Foothill sunburst is a California native annual found in the Butte County region and Sierra Nevada foothills in sandy grasslands, open chaparral, woodland, and yellow-pine forest at elevations of 100 to 1,600 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces yellow sunburst-like flowers in compact clusters with distinctive reddish flower stalks. Growing with slender stems 10 to 40 centimeters tall, it has delicate, finely divided leaves with narrow segments less than 1.5 millimeters wide. Its leaves are uniquely structured with 1 to 2 pinnate lobes, creating a feathery, intricate foliage pattern. The plant's compact involucre, with approximately 8 lance-elliptic phyllaries fused at the base, provides additional botanical interest.

Habitat: Sandy or rocky grassland, open chaparral, woodland, yellow-pine forest

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: 100-1600 m

Bioregions: CaRF (Butte Co.), SNF.

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