Stephanomeria tenuifolia

Narrow-leaved wire-lettuce

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Narrow-leaved wire-lettuce is a California native perennial found in the Sierra Nevada, Great Basin, desert mountains, and high montane regions on volcanic, granitic, and sandstone outcrops, rocky ridges, and cliff bases at elevations of 300 to 3,000 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces delicate light pink flowers in solitary heads about 5 to 15 millimeters long. Growing with erect to ascending stems 20 to 70 centimeters tall, it develops from a stout rhizome with few to many variable branches. Its lower leaves are linear to thread-like, 5 to 8 centimeters long, often withering by flowering time, while upper leaves become progressively smaller and bract-like. The fruit is 3 to 6 millimeters long with smooth faces and white, fully feathered pappus bristles.

Habitat: Volcanic, granitic, sandstone outcrops, rocky ridges, cliff bases

Bloom period: Jul-Aug

Elevation: 300-3000 m

Bioregions: CaRH, SNH, GB, DMoj

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