Senecio fremontii var. occidentalis

Western dwarf mountain ragwort, Western Dwarf Mountain Ragwort

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Western dwarf mountain ragwort is a California native perennial found in the Sierra Nevada (excluding northern High Sierra), San Bernardino Mountains, and eastern Sierra Nevada in rocky subalpine and alpine sites at elevations of 2,800 to 4,000 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces yellow flower heads with 35 to 45 disk flowers arranged in small clusters of 1 to 4 heads. Growing as a compact plant 10 to 20 centimeters tall with erect stems, it has a distinctive growth pattern with smaller, fewer leaves toward the stem tips. Its leaves are progressively reduced in size up the stem, creating a delicate, clustered appearance characteristic of high-elevation alpine environments. The fruit is small, measuring 3 to 3.5 millimeters long, typical of its diminutive mountain habitat.

Habitat: Rocky subalpine, alpine sites

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: 2800-4000 m

Bioregions: SN (exc n SNH), SnBr, SNE

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