Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Heterotheca sessiliflora is a species of flowering plant in the Asteraceae (Sunflower) family known by the common name False Goldenaster. It is native to California and Baja California, where it grows primarily along the coast, in the foothills and mountains, in many types of habitat. This is a perennial herb which is quite variable in appearance. There are four recognized subspecies which vary in morphology and geographic range. Depending on subspecies and location, it may be a small clumping or mat-forming plant or grow tall stems to heights exceeding a meter. It may appear as an annual or perennial herb. It is coated in small bristles or long woolly hairs and it is hairy, particularly around the flower cluster. The flower head contains long yellowish disc florets and the edge is fringed with yellow ray florets. Its most outstanding feature is nearly year-round flowering.

Plant type

Annual herb, Perennial herb

Size

2 - 4 ft Tall

Calscape icon
Color

Yellow

Flowering season

Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall

Special uses

Groundcover

Sun

Full Sun, Partial Shade

Water

Low, Moderate

Soil drainage

Fast, Medium

Soil description

Usually found in sand but tolerates garden soil.

Site type

Dunes and grassy places, canyons, foothills and mountain slopes primarily in the Coast Ranges

Plant communities

Chaparral, Coastal Sage Scrub, Foothill Woodland, Joshua Tree Woodland, Mixed Evergreen Forest, Northern Coastal Scrub, Red Fir Forest, Sagebrush Scrub, Valley Grassland, Yellow Pine Forest

Bats
Bees
Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 12 likely

Confirmed Likely

Tobacco Budworm Moth

Chloridea virescens

Gabb's Checkerspot

Chlosyne gabbii

Bordered Patch

Chlosyne lacinia

Dejongia californicus