Senecio elegans

Red-purple ragwort

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Red-purple ragwort is a naturalized annual found in coastal bioregions of Central Coast, San Francisco Bay, and Southern California in disturbed coastal sites at elevations below 100 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces deep red-purple ray flowers in radiate heads arranged in flat-topped clusters up to 30 millimeters wide. Growing with branched, sticky-glandular stems 20 to 50 centimeters tall, it develops from a central taproot. Its leaves are primarily obovate, 3 to 8 centimeters long, with 1 to 2 pinnately lobed margins that have crenate or dentate edges. The distinctive flower heads feature conspicuous black-tipped phyllaries and numerous disk flowers, creating a vibrant display in coastal disturbed areas.

Habitat: Disturbed coastal sites

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: < 100 m

Bioregions: CCo, SnFrB, SCo

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