Psilocarphus brevissimus var. multiflorus

Delta woolly-marbles

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.2

Delta woolly-marbles is a California native annual herb found in the Sacramento Valley, northern San Joaquin Valley, and San Francisco Bay Area in vernal pools and flats at elevations of 10 to 500 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces small, densely clustered heads with silky white flowers approximately 9 to 14 millimeters in diameter. Growing with generally solitary stems and a silky-cobwebby appearance, it reaches heights with leaves up to 25 millimeters long. Its leaves are roughly three to six times longer than wide, creating a delicate, compact structure. The plant's distinctive feature is its deeply lobed receptacle with cylindric paleae that have wing-like extensions about halfway along their length.

Habitat: Vernal pools, flats

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 10-500 m

Bioregions: ScV, n SnJV, SnFrB.

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