''Layia chrysanthemoides'' 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 smooth tidytips, or smooth layia. 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 lives in several types of habitat along the coast and in inland hills and valleys, and the Central Valley.

Description

This is an annual herb producing an erect, nonglandular stem to a maximum height near half a meter. The leaves are linear or lance-shaped with prickly or fuzzy edges. The lower leaves may be lobed and grow up to about 10 centimeters long. The

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 cups of hairy-edged

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 ...

with a fringe of white-tipped golden ray florets around a tightly packed center of yellow disc florets with purple

anthers The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

. 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 ...

; fruits on the disc florets often have a white bristly pappus.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery

chrysanthemoides ''Chrysanthemoides'' is one of eight genera of the Calenduleae, with a centre of diversity in South Africa. The genus contains only two species, but is known for the invasive "Bitou Bush" '' Chrysanthemoides monilifera''. Studies of this genus h ...

Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Central Valley (California) Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Asteroideae-stub