Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Grindelia camporum is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names Great Valley gumplant and Great Valley gumweed. The plant is native to California and Baja California, where it can be found in a number of habitats including chaparral and woodlands. Its range may extend into Nevada. It is hardy plant that also readily grows in disturbed and altered areas such as ditches and roadsides. Grindelia camporum is a gangly perennial up to 2 m (6 ft. ) in maximum height but usually less. Its erect, branching stems are lined with many stiff, wavy-edged, serrated leaves 2 to 3 cm long. Atop the stem branches are inflorescences of a single large flower head up to 3 cm wide. The head is a vaguely thistlelike cup of green clawlike phyllaries that bend downward. The centre of the head is filled with yellow disc florets and there are usually many yellow ray florets around the circumference. The flower head fills with a copious white exudate, especially during the early stages of blooming. It is a traditional Native American medicinal plant, used by the Indigenous peoples of California and also a major pollinator attractant.

Plant type

Perennial herb

Size

2 - 7 ft Tall
3 ft Wide

Growth rate

Moderate

Dormancy

Summer Semi-deciduous

Calscape icon
Color

Yellow

Flowering season

Summer, Spring, Fall

Special uses

Deer resistant

Sun

Full Sun

Water

Very Low, Low

Summer irrigation

Max 1x / month once established

Ease of care

Easy

Cold tolerance

Tolerates cold to 15° F

Soil drainage

Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil description

Adaptable. Tolerates saline soil..
Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0

Propagation

For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Sunset Zones

7*, 8*, 9*, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17, 18, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22, 23, 24

Site type

Sandy or saline bottomlands of interior valleys, also mountains to 4, 000 ft., coastal bluffs, and rocky cliffs on the Channel Islands

Plant communities

Chaparral, Coastal Sage Scrub, Valley Grassland, Wetland-Riparian

Because this plant is fairly widespread across the state, companion plants will depend on locality but may include native grasses, Penstemon spp., Lupines (Lupinus spp.), Poppies (Eschscholzia spp. or Papaver spp.), and various native cactus and succulents.

Bats
Bees
Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

2 confirmed and 9 likely

Confirmed Likely

Orange Tortrix Moth

Argyrotaenia franciscana

Cremastobombycia grindeliella

Bordered Patch

Chlosyne lacinia

Dejongia californicus