Rafinesquia californica

California chicory

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

California chicory is a California native annual found in coastal and interior regions including the North Coast, North Coast Ranges, California Ranges, Sierra Nevada Foothills, southern Sierra Nevada, Sutter Buttes, central and southern western California, eastern Sierra Nevada, and desert areas at elevations of 100 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces white to pale lavender flowers in delicate, branched clusters. Growing with erect stems 20 to 150 centimeters tall, it branches extensively in the upper half of the plant. Its leaves are deeply lobed and become smaller toward the top of the stem, with lower leaves wider and more divided. After flowering, the plant produces distinctive fruits with a long, slender beak that is nearly as long as the seed body.

Habitat: Open sites in scrub, woodland; often common after fire

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: 100-1500 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoR, CaRF, SNF, s SNH, ScV (Sutter Buttes), CW, SW, SNE, D

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