Cut-Leaved Ragwort
(Senecio eurycephalus var. lewisrosei )
Asteraceae

Photo By Joe Molter

Description: Perennial herb with persistent clump of grayish green basal leaves which are deeply dissected, 3 to 6 inches (5 to 15 cm) long and 1 to 3 inches (2 to 5 cm) wide. Herbage covered with feltlike short-wooly hair when young, appearing silver-gray. One to several erect flowering stems per clump, each with short branches at top bearing 5 to 10 yellow flower-heads which are 1/8 to 1/2 inches (5 to 10 mm) in diameter. Yellow flower-heads contain both ray and disk flowers.

Distribution:  This species is found in the northern Sierra Nevada

Habitat: Serpentine substrate in chaparral, foothill woodland, and lower mixed-conifer forest from 900 to 3200 feet (300 to 1100 m) elevation. Plant is found on both green serpentine rock and reddish weathered ultramafic soils.

Flowering Period: April to July

Similar Plants:

Status: BLM Sensitive, California Native Plant Society List 1B