Wyethia mollis

Mountain mule ears

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Mountain mule ears is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, Cascades, northern and central Sierra Nevada, Modoc Plateau, and northern eastern Sierra Nevada in open forests, meadows, dry rocky slopes, and sagebrush scrub at elevations of 900 to 3,400 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces large yellow sunflower-like flowers with ray petals 15 to 45 millimeters long in heads 2 centimeters wide. Growing 30 to 100 centimeters tall with densely woolly stems that often become smoother with age, it develops a robust, upright form. Its large basal leaves are 20 to 40 centimeters long, oblanceolate to widely obovate, initially covered in dense woolly hair and often becoming less hairy over time. The distinctive leaves and bright yellow flowers make this a prominent wildflower in its mountain and foothill habitats.

Habitat: Open forest, meadows, dry rocky slopes, sagebrush scrub

Bloom period: May-Jul(Sep)

Elevation: 900-3400 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoRH, CaR, n&ampc SN, MP, n SNE

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