Xanthisma junceum

Rush-like bristleweed

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Rush-like bristleweed is a California native perennial ranked 4.3 by CNPS, found in the Peninsular Ranges in dry chaparral and coastal scrub habitats at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from May to October, this plant produces bright yellow ray flowers 5 to 6 millimeters long in distinctive heads 10 to 12 millimeters wide. Growing with spreading to erect stems 40 to 100 centimeters tall that are occasionally woody at the base and nearly leafless above ground, it has a sparse, slightly glandular appearance. Its leaves are narrow, generally 1 to 2 centimeters long and less than 4 millimeters wide, with proximal leaves often linearly lobed or serrate. The fruit is 2.5 to 3 millimeters long and covered in fine hairs, with a tan pappus nearly equal in length to the disk corolla.

Habitat: dry hillsides; chaparral, coastal scrub

Bloom period: May-Oct

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: PR

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