''Encelia californica'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

known by the common name California brittlebush. It is also commonly referred to as California coast sunflower and California bush sunflower.

Distribution

This shrub is native to

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

(U.S.) and northern

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

(México). It is a member of the coastal sage plant community at the shoreline, and the chaparral and woodlands plant community on inland foothills in the

Transverse Transverse may refer to: *Transverse engine, an engine in which the crankshaft is oriented side-to-side relative to the wheels of the vehicle *Transverse flute, a flute that is held horizontally * Transverse force (or ''Euler force''), the tangen ...

and

Peninsular Ranges The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges, which ...

.Calflora taxon report, University of California, ''Encelia californica'' Nutt., California brittlebush, California encelia, bush sunflower
/ref>

Description

''Encelia californica'' is a bushy shrub that reaches between 50–150 cm (20-60 inches) in height. It has many thin branches covered in widely spaced green leaves which are a rounded diamond shape. The solitary

flower heads A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

are daisy like, with 15 to 25 bright yellow

ray florets The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

1 to 3 centimeters long around a center of protruding yellowish to purplish brown

disc floret The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

s. The fruit is an

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

5 to 7 millimeters long, with no pappus. It blooms from February to June, and attracts butterflies, bees, and other insects.Flora of North America ''Encelia californica'' Nuttall
/ref>

Uses

It is a host plant for the larvae of the

Bay checkerspot butterfly The Bay checkerspot (''Euphydryas editha bayensis'') is a butterfly endemic to the San Francisco Bay region of the U.S. state of California. It is a federally threatened species, as a subspecies of ''Euphydryas editha''. Since the 1980s the popu ...

, a threatened species. ''Encelia californica'' is cultivated by specialty nurseries as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

, for use in

native plant In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equ ...

and

wildlife garden A wildlife garden (or wild garden) is an environment created by a gardener that serves as a sustainable haven for surrounding wildlife. Wildlife gardens contain a variety of habitats that cater to native and local plants, birds, amphibians, rep ...

s, and

natural landscaping Natural landscaping, also called native gardening, is the use of native plants and adapted species, including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and grasses which are local to the geographic area of the garden. Benefits Maintenance Natural landsc ...

projects. It is drought tolerant but not frost tolerant, and needs full sun.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Encelia californica'' (California brittlebush, Bush sunflower)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Encelia californica''USDA Plants Profile for ''Encelia californica'' (California brittlebush)UC Calphotos gallery of ''Encelia californica'' (California brittlebush)
* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q5375329 californica Flora of California Flora of Baja California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Channel Islands of California Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Plants described in 1841 Taxa named by Thomas Nuttall Garden plants of North America Drought-tolerant plants Flora without expected TNC conservation status