Tetradymia axillaris var. longispina

Catclaw horsebrush

Family: Asteraceae · Type: shrub · Native

Catclaw horsebrush is a California native shrub found in southern Sierra Nevada Foothills, eastern Transverse Ranges, northern San Gabriel Mountains, southern Sierra Nevada, and Mojave Desert in desert scrub and woodland habitats at elevations of 1,200 to 2,300 meters. Flowering from April to June, this shrub produces small yellow flowers in clusters with woolly, tomentose flower heads. Growing with stiff, angular branches 30 to 100 centimeters tall, it forms a dense, intricate branching pattern characteristic of desert shrubs. Its leaves are small, narrow, and spine-tipped, giving the plant its distinctive "catclaw" name and providing an effective defense against herbivores. The fruit is covered in long, silky hairs measuring 9 to 11 millimeters in length, which aid in wind dispersal across its arid mountain habitats.

Habitat: Desert scrub, woodland

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 1200-2300 m

Bioregions: s SNF, e WTR, n SnGb, s SNE, DMoj

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