Tonestus eximius

Tahoe tonestus, Tahoe Tonestus

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Tahoe tonestus is a native perennial ranked 4.3 by CNPS found in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, particularly in Alpine and El Dorado counties, inhabiting granite crevices and talus slopes at elevations of 1,800 to 3,300 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces white ray flowers with 10 to 13 petals surrounded by disk flowers in compact clusters. Growing in dense, cespitose clumps with branched underground stems no taller than 13 centimeters, it forms a low, compact cushion-like mat. Its leaves are relatively small, reaching up to 5 centimeters long, with coarsely toothed or nearly entire margins. The distinctive involucre surrounding its flower heads is leaf-like and measures 7.5 to 16 millimeters across.

Habitat: Granite crevices, talus

Bloom period: Jul-Aug

Elevation: 1800-3300 m

Bioregions: SNH (Alpine, El Dorado, Inyo cos.)

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