Common name:
Sierra lessingia
Family:
Scientific name:
Lessingia leptoclada
Main flower color:
Range:
California, mainly the Sierra Nevada
Height:
Up to 3 feet
Habitat:
Woodland, grassy slopes, roadsides; up to 7,000 feet
Leaves:
Narrowly ovate to lanceolate, untoothed, up to 2 inches long; much shorter on the upper stem
Season:
July to October
Flowerheads of lessingia leptoclada contain no ray florets, instead between six and 25 disc florets, pale pink to lavender, the corollas deeply divided into five narrow lobes, up to one inch long. The corolla tube is darker in color. Florets around the perimeter are larger than those at the center. The cone-shaped involucre is enclosed by up to 30 oblong phyllaries, non-glandular, with a tomentose hair covering. Phyllary tips, green or purplish, are pointed, and angled upwards, not spreading.
Basal leaves are relatively long, up to 2 inches, while upper stem leaves are much reduced, to narrow, linear, pointed bracts. Leaves may be hairless but are usually sparsely hairy. Stems branch a few times, at or above the middle; branches are ascending, light brown in color, and mostly hairless.
Basal leaves are relatively long, up to 2 inches, while upper stem leaves are much reduced, to narrow, linear, pointed bracts. Leaves may be hairless but are usually sparsely hairy. Stems branch a few times, at or above the middle; branches are ascending, light brown in color, and mostly hairless.
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