''Ericameria ericoides'', known by the common names California goldenbush, mock heather, and California heathgoldenrod, is a species of flowering shrubs 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 ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where it grows in the

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

and coastal hills between the northern

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

and the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

area.Calflora taxon report, University of California, ''Ericameria ericoides'' (Less.) Jepson, California goldenbush, mock heather
/ref>

Description

''Ericameria ericoides'' is a

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

that rarely approaches a maximum height of . It is densely foliated with comblike fans of small cylindrical leaves up to a centimeter long. Its small erect branches are topped with

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s of small golden yellow

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 ...

, each with several

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 and a few ray florets.Flora of North America, California goldenbush, heather goldenweed , ''Ericameria ericoides'' (Lessing) Jepson
/ref>

References

External links

*
Jepson Manual Treatment of ''Ericameria ericoides''United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile for ''Ericameria ericoides''''Ericameria ericoides''— Calphoto Photo gallery, University of California
ericoides Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains Plants described in 1831 Taxa named by Willis Linn Jepson Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Astereae-stub