Senecio pattersonensis

Mount patterson senecio, Mount Patterson Senecio

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Mount patterson senecio is a rare (CNPS 1B.3) California native perennial found in central Sierra Nevada and eastern Sierra Nevada on talus slopes at elevations of 3,000 to 3,700 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces white ray flowers with yellow disk centers in heads 10 to 15 millimeters wide. Growing as a compact herb only 2 to 10 centimeters tall with 1 to 3 occasionally reddish stems emerging from a branched rhizome, it forms delicate clusters on rocky alpine terrain. Its leaves are oblanceolate to lance-linear, 1 to 4 centimeters long and 3 to 5 millimeters wide, with margins that are entire or occasionally slightly wavy. The compact plant's light green phyllaries and small stature make it well-adapted to harsh high-elevation environments.

Habitat: Talus slopes

Bloom period: Jul-Aug

Elevation: 3000-3700 m

Bioregions: c SNH, SNE

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