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California plumeseed

Rafinesquia californica

Also called California Chicory

California plumeseed
Photo: Eric in SF, CC BY-SA 3.0
Family
Asteraceae (Daisy family)
Native range
W. U.S.A. to Mexico (Baja California Norte, Sonora)

About

Rafinesquia californica is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names California chicory and California plumeseed. It looks like a weedy daisy, bearing heads of elegant white-petaled flowers. The ligules of the flowers are often striped with lavender or pink on the undersides, a feature most noticeable when the heads are closed. Each fruit has a pappus of stiff white or light brown hairs.

It is among the first plants to sprout up in areas recently cleared by fire. Indeed, the seeds germinate more readily in the presence of burned wood. It is native to most of the southwestern United States as far north as Oregon, and to Baja California in Mexico.

Other Rafinesquia plants

New Mexico plumeseed · Plumeseed

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Rafinesquia californica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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