Sphaeromeria potentilloides

Fivefinger chickensage, Fivefinger Chickensage

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Fivefinger chickensage is a California native perennial found in desert and montane regions in rocky or open sites at elevations between 1,000 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces small white to pale yellow flowers in compact clusters with 2 to 20 heads. Growing with delicate branched stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall that spread from the base, it forms a low, intricate clump. Its basal leaves are intricately divided into 1 to 3 pinnate segments, creating a feathery texture with leaves ranging from 20 to 70 millimeters long. The fruit is small, approximately 1 to 1.5 millimeters long, with distinctive 5 ribs that swell when wet.

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