Pseudobahia peirsonii

San joaquin adobe sunburst, San Joaquin Adobe Sunburst

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1 · Threatened

San joaquin adobe sunburst is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native annual found in southern Sierra Nevada Foothills in Kern County and southeastern San Joaquin Valley in Fresno and Tulare counties, growing in grassland and bare dark clay at elevations of 100 to 900 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces yellow flowers in heads with distinctive oblanceolate phyllaries fused only at the base. Growing 20 to 70 centimeters tall with erect stems, it develops triangular-ovate leaves typically 2 to 6 centimeters long that are 2-pinnately lobed with narrow segments 1 to 5 millimeters wide. Its leaves feature intricate lobing, with smaller plants showing simpler 1-pinnate leaf structure and larger plants displaying more complex 2-pinnate divisions. The fruit is approximately 3 millimeters long with glandular disk flower lobes.

Habitat: Grassland, bare dark clay

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 100-900 m

Bioregions: s SNF (Kern Co.), se SnJV (Fresno, Tulare cos.).

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