Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Senecio spartioides is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name broom-like ragwort. It is native to the western United States as far east as the Dakotas and Texas, and northern Mexico. It can be found in dry, rocky, often disturbed areas in a number of habitat types. It is a subshrub which can exceed a meter in height, its arching stems growing from a woody-topped taproot. The leaves are linear in shape and up to 10 centimeters long. The leaves usually have smooth, unlobed edges, but slightly lobed leaves are seen at times. The leaves are evenly distributed along the stems, the ones low on the stems withering away early, giving the plant a naked appearance on the lower half while the top is still lush green and blooming. The inflorescences are spreading, flat-topped arrays of many cylindrical flower heads. The heads contain yellow disc florets and generally either 5 or 8 ray florets each about a centimeter long. Senecio spartioides' silvery white pappus hairs, that carry the tiny, brown seeds aloft, attract as much attention as the golden yellow flowers. The hairs are common on many members of the Sunflower Family, most famously on Dandelions, Taraxacum officinale.

Plant type

Perennial herb

Calscape icon
Color

Yellow

Plant communities

Bristlecone Pine Forest, Red Fir Forest

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 10 likely

Confirmed Likely

Alfalfa Looper Moth

Autographa californica

Morning-glory Plume Moth

Emmelina monodactyla

Salt Marsh Moth

Estigmene acrea