Lasthenia californica

Lasthenia californica is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name California goldfields. It is native to California, Oregon and surrounding areas, where it is a very common member of the flora in a number of habitat types.

"California goldfields" redirects here. For other uses, see California Gold Rush.

Lasthenia californica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Asterids
Order:
Asterales
Family:
Asteraceae
Tribe:
Heliantheae
Genus:
Lasthenia
Species:
L. californica
Binomial name
Lasthenia californica

Description

Lasthenia californica is an annual herb approaching a maximum height near 40 centimeters but generally staying much smaller. The plant is quite variable in appearance across subspecies and climates. The leaves are hairy, somewhat linear in shape, and one to seven centimeters long. Individuals growing along the coast may have fleshy leaves.

Flowers

Atop the hairy stems are inflorescences of flower heads with hairy phyllaries. The head contains many yellow disc florets with a fringe of small ray florets. Large populations of this species bloom at once in the spring to produce the carpets of yellow on hillsides and in meadows that give the plant its common name.


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