''Isocoma menziesii'' 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 Menzies' goldenbush. It is native to

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...

, where it grows in coastal and inland habitat such as

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

, particularly in sandy soils.Nesom, G.L. 1991. Taxonomy of ''Isocoma'' (Compositae: Astereae). Phytologia 70(2): 69–114
includes distribution map on page 72

Description

''Isocoma menziesii'' is a subshrub forming a matted bush reaching heights of . The erect branching stems may be hairless to woolly, are generally glandular, and vary in color from gray-green to reddish brown. The leaves are oval-shaped to somewhat rectangular, gray-green and sometimes hairy and glandular, and long with stumpy teeth along the edges. The abundant

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 are clusters of thick

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 head is a capsule with layers of thick, pointed, greenish

phyllaries In botanical terminology, a phyllary, also known an involucral bract or tegule, is a single bract of the involucre of a composite flower. The involucre is the grouping of bracts together. Phyllaries are reduced leaf-like structures that form one or ...

. The head is filled with large, protruding, cylindrical yellow disc florets with long stigmas.

Varieties

* ''Isocoma menziesii'' var. ''decumbens'' (Greene) G.L.Nesom - far northern

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

*''Isocoma menziesii'' var. ''diabolica'' G. L. Nesom - Santa Clara + San Benito Counties * ''Isocoma menziesii'' var. ''menziesii'' -

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

, western

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

* ''Isocoma menziesii'' var. ''sedoides'' (Greene) G.L.Nesom - from

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

to San Luis Obispo Counties including

* ''Isocoma menziesii'' var. ''tridentata'' (Greene) G.L.Nesom - southern

including

Isla Cedros Cedros Island (''Isla de Cedros'', "island of cedars" in Spanish) is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the state of Baja California, Mexico. The dry and rocky island had a population of 1,350 in 2005 and has an area of which includes ...

, northern

* ''Isocoma menziesii'' var. ''vernonioides'' (Nutt.) G.L.Nesom - from

Monterey County Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Montere ...

to northern

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment of ''Isocoma menziesii''''Isocoma menziesii'' — Calphotos Photos gallery, University of California

menzies Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges. Derivation and history The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...

Flora of California Flora of Baja California Flora of Baja California Sur 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 1839 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Astereae-stub