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Santa Barbara wirelettuce

Stephanomeria elata

Santa Barbara wirelettuce
Photo: Don Loarie, CC BY 4.0

Santa Barbara wirelettuce is a slender annual wildflower of western North America, usually found in dry, open sites. It is grown mainly by gardeners interested in native plants, and it is best sown directly in a sunny, well-drained spot.

Family
Asteraceae (Daisy family)
Grows as
Annual
Light
Full sun
Water
Water lightly until seedlings are established, then let the soil dry between waterings; it needs little extra water.
Soil
Sandy or gritty, well-drained soil; poor soil is fine.
Temperature
Hardy in mild, Mediterranean-type climates; protect from frost, which can kill seedlings.
How easy
Easy
Native range
Oregon to California

About

Stephanomeria elata is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names Santa Barbara wirelettuce and Nuttall's wirelettuce. It is native to Oregon and California, where it grows in coastal and inland mountain ranges, including the Sierra Nevada. It can be found in many types of habitat. It is an annual herb producing a slender, upright stem often exceeding one meter in maximum height. It is hairy to hairless and glandular. The leaves are mostly located in a basal rosette, the largest reaching 10 centimeters long. Smaller, much-reduced leaves occur higher up the stem. The leaves drop early, rendering the plant naked for most of the year. Flowers occur singly or in small clusters along the stiff branches. Each head contains up to 15 or 16 ray florets with an elongated tube and a pink ligule 6 or 7 millimeters long.

Other Stephanomeria plants

Chicoryleaf wirelettuce · San Diego wirelettuce · Small wirelettuce · Teton wirelettuce · Lettuce wirelettuce · Malheur wirelettuce · Stephanomeria occultata · Tufted wirelettuce · Parry's wirelettuce · Brownplume wirelettuce · Desert wirelettuce · Slender Wire Lettuce

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Stephanomeria elata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

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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