Syntrichopappus lemmonii

Lemmon's syntrichopappus

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Lemmon's syntrichopappus is a California native annual found in southern California ranges including the Transverse Ranges, San Gabriel Mountains, San Bernardo Mountains, and Monterey County in open, sandy to gravelly areas of chaparral and woodland at elevations of 900 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from April to May, this plant produces yellow flowers with ray florets 2 to 3 millimeters long in distinctive reddish peduncle clusters. Growing with upright stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall that become somewhat hairless with age, it develops a branching, loosely structured form. Its narrow leaves measure 3 to 8 millimeters long, linear to oblanceolate with entire margins and blunt tips. The fruit is small, approximately 2 to 2.5 millimeters long, potentially accompanied by 20 to 30 tiny bristles.

Habitat: Open, sandy to gravelly areas in chaparral or Joshua-tree or pinyon/juniper woodland

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: 900-1500 m

Bioregions: SCoRO (Monterey Co.), e WTR, SnGb, SnBr, SnJt.

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