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

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

It is 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 List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

(U.S.) and northern

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

(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 Pacific Coast Range ...

.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 (; : pseudanthia) 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, composite flowers ...

are daisy like, with 15 to 25 bright yellow

ray florets Asteraceae () is a large family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchidaceae, and which is the larger fa ...

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

disc floret Asteraceae () is a large family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchidaceae, and which is the larger fa ...

s. The fruit is an

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple fruit, simple dry fruits, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and Dehi ...

5 to 7 millimeters long, with no pappus. It blooms from February to June, and attracts butterflies, bees, and other insects.

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 p ...

, 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 th ...

, 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 equi ...

and

wildlife garden A wildlife garden (or habitat garden or backyard restoration) is an Biophysical environment, environment created with the purpose to serve as a sustainable haven for surrounding wildlife. Wildlife gardens contain a variety of habitats that cater t ...

s, and

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

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