Coarsegold, California
Revised 6-11-15

                                                    

NOTES California Bay	California Bay, Leaves AKA California Laurel, Oregon Myrtle, Pepperwood Umbellularia californica Laurel family	NOTES Buffalo-Bur (Closeup)	Buffalo-Bur Solanum rostratum Nightshade family
NOTES Shrubby Butterweed (Closeup)	Shrubby Butterweed, Leaves AKA Bush Senecio, Douglas' Senecio Threadleaf Ragwort Senecio flaccidus var. douglasii Sunflower family	NOTES California Bur Clover AKA Bur Medic, Burclover Medicago polymorpha Pea family
NOTES Low Hop Clover (Closeup)	Low Hop Clover Trifolium procumbens Pea family	NOTES   Yellow Sweet Clover (Closeup)	Yellow Sweet Clover Melilotus officinalis Pea family
NOTES False Dandelion (Closeup)	False Dandelion, Leaves AKA Rough Cat's Ear Hypochaeris radicata Sunflower family	NOTES Durango Root (Closeup)	Durango Root, Leaves Datisca glomerata Datisca family
NOTES Hooker's Evening Primrose (Closeup)	Hooker's Evening Primrose Oenothera elata ssp. Hookeri Evening Primrose family	NOTES Menzies' Fiddleneck (Closeup)	Menzies' Fiddleneck AKA Common Fiddleneck Amsinckia menziesii var. intermedia Forget-Me-Not family
NOTES Flannel Bush (Closeup)	Flannel Bush Fremontodendron californicum Cacao family	NOTES Frying Pans (Closeup)	Frying Pans AKA Frying Pans Poppy, Lobb's Goldenpoppy Eschscholzia lobbii Poppy family
NOTES Gambleweed (Closeup)	Gambleweed, Leaves AKA Pacific Snakeroot, Pacific Sanicle Sanicula crassicaulis Carrot family	Gambleweed, Another View
NOTES Goldfields (Closeup)	Goldfields, Leaves Lasthenia californica Sunflower family	Goldfields, Aging Flower	Goldfields en masse
NOTES Chaparral Honeysuckle (Closeup)	Chaparral Honeysuckle Lonicera interrupta Honeysuckle family	NOTES Slender Keel Fruit (Closeup)	Slender Keel Fruit, Leaves AKA Dobie Pod Tropidocarpum gracile Mustard family
NOTES Prickly Lettuce (Closeup)	Prickly Lettuce AKA Poison Wild Lettuce, Bitter Lettuce, Opium Lettuce Lactuca serriola Sunflower family	NOTES Common Lomatium AKA Foothill Lomatium, Bladder Parsnip, Hog Fennel Lomatium utriculatum Carrot family
NOTES Hill Lotus (Closeup)	Hill Lotus AKA Foothill Deervetch Bird's-Foot Lotus Lotus humistratus Pea family	NOTES Butter Lupine (Closeup)	Butter Lupine, Leaves Lupinus luteolus Pea family
NOTES Harlequin Lupine (Closeup)	Harlequin Lupine, Leaves Lupinus stiversii Pea family	NOTES Common Madia (Closeup)	Common Madia, Leaves AKA Tarweed Madia elegans Sunflower family
Common Madia, ssp. densifolia (Closeup)	Common Madia	NOTES Indian Mallow (Closeup)	Indian Mallow AKA Velvetleaf, Pie Marker Abutilon theophrasti Mallow family
NOTES Bur Marigold (Closeup)	Bur Marigold AKA Sticktight, Devil's Beggartick Bidens frondosa Sunflower family	NOTES Narrow-Leaved Meconella (Closeup)	Narrow-Leaved Meconella Meconella linearis Poppy family
NOTES Woolly Milkweed (Closeup)	Woolly Milkweed Asclepias vestita Milkweed family	NOTES Common Monkeyflower (Closeup)	Common Monkeyflower AKA Seep-Spring Monkeyflower Mimulus guttatus Figwort family
Common Monkeyflower, Pattern variation (Closeup)	Common Monkeyflower Pattern variation	NOTES Mugwort (Closeup)	Mugwort, Leaves AKA Douglas' Sagewort, California Mugwort Artemisia douglasiana Sunflower family
NOTES Hall's Mule Ears (Closeup)	Hall's Mule Ears, Leaves AKA Hall's Wyethia Wyethia elata Sunflower family	NOTES Common Mullein* (Closeup)	Common Mullein* AKA Woolly Mullein, Flannel Mullein Verbascum thapsus Figwort family
NOTES Moth Mullein (Closeup)	Moth Mullein Verbascum blattaria Figwort family	NOTES Charlock Mustard (Closeup)	Charlock Mustard, Leaves AKA Wild Mustard Sinapis arvensis Mustard family
NOTES Field Mustard (Closeup)	Field Mustard, Leaves Brassica rapa Mustard family	NOTES Oxalis (Closeup)	Oxalis, Leaves AKA Creeping Wood Sorrel, Wood Shamrock, Sourgrass Oxalis corniculata Wood Sorrel family
NOTES Yellow Pincushion* (Closeup)	Yellow Pincushion* AKA Pebble Pincushion, Golden Girls Chaenactis glabriuscula Sunflower family	NOTES Pineapple Weed (Closeup)	Pineapple Weed Chamomilla suaveolens Sunflower family
NOTES Tufted Poppy (Closeup)	Tufted Poppy AKA Foothill Poppy Eschscholzia caespitosa Poppy family	NOTES Pretty Face (Closeup)	Pretty Face Triteleia ixioides Lily family
NOTES Puncture Vine AKA Goat's Head, Tackweed, Caltrop, Ground Bur-Nut Tribulus terrestris Caltrop family		NOTES Common Purslane (Closeup)	Common Purslane Portulaca oleracea Purslane family
NOTES Wild Radish (Closeup)	Wild Radish, Leaves Raphinus sativas Mustard family	NOTES Dwarf Cliff Sedum AKA Sierra Stonecrop Parvisedum pumilum Stonecrop family	NOTES Common Senecio AKA Old Man of Spring, Common Groundsel, Common Butterweed Senecio vulgaris Sunflower family
NOTES Shieldleaf (Closeup)	Shieldleaf AKA Jewelflower Streptanthus tortuosus Mustard family	NOTES Silver Puffs (Closeup)	Silver Puffs, Leaves AKA Lindley's Silverpuffs Microseris lindleyi AKA Uropappus lindleyi Sunflower family
NOTES Bermuda Sorrel (Closeup)	Bermuda Sorrel, Leaves AKA Bermuda Buttercup Oxalis pes-caprae Violet family	NOTES Spiny Sowthistle (Closeup)	Spiny Sowthistle, Leaves Sonchus asper ssp. asper Sunflower family
NOTES Sierra Suncup (Closeup)	Sierra Suncup, Leaves Camissonia sierrae ssp. sierrae Evening Primrose family	NOTES Sunflower (Closeup)	Sunflower, Leaves Helianthus annuus Sunflower family
NOTES Sun Spurge (Closeup)	Sun Spurge AKA Wartweed Euphorbia helioscopia Spurge family	NOTES Heermann's Tarweed (Closeup)	Heermann's Tarweed Holocarpha heermanni Sunflower family
NOTES Telegraph Weed (Closeup)	Telegraph Weed, Leaves AKA Golden Aster Heterotheca grandiflora Sunflower family	NOTES Tocolote (Closeup)	Tocolote AKA Maltese Star Thistle Centaurea melitensis Sunflower family
NOTES Bird's-Foot Trefoil (Closeup)	Bird's-Foot Trefoil AKA Birdfoot Deervetch, Birdsfoot Lotus Lotus corniculatus Pea family	NOTES Mountain Violet (Closeup)	Mountain Violet, Leaves Viola purpurea Violet family
NOTES Golden Yarrow (Closeup)	Golden Yarrow, Leaves AKA Yellow Yarrow Eriophyllum confertiflorum Sunflower family

NOTES:

Bermuda Sorrel

Bloom:  November–March
Description:  Perennial herb, 4–12".  Yellow funnel-shaped flowers on a tall, leafless stem.  Basal leaves cloverlike.
Special:   Not native; invasive.   BACK

Bird's-Foot Trefoil

Bloom:  May–September
Description:  Perennial herb.  Yellow flowers (banner petal may be reddish).  Prostrate stems, 3 oblong leaflets per leaf.  Large pair of leaflike stipules at the base of each long leaf petiole.
Special:  Not native; invasive.   BACK

Buffalo-Bur

Bloom:  April–November
Description:  Low-growing hairy annual to 2'.  1–1½" attractive yellow flowers are five-lobed, wheel-shaped, in clusters on spiny flower stalks.  Leaves alternate, irregularly cut into 5–7 lobes.  Every part of the plant, except the flower petals, has spines.  Forms a spiny bur that encloses the seed.
Special:  Native to Midwest.  Considered a noxious weed on farms and rangelands.   BACK

Bur Marigold

Bloom:  July–November
Description:  Annual herb, 2–7'.    Nodding yellow flower heads ¾–2" wide.  Yellow ray flowers are broad; central disk is slightly darker and buttonlike.  The flower head has a few long, leaflike bracts.  Toothed leaves in pairs, lance-shaped to oblong.
Special:  Native.  Prefers wet areas.    BACK

Butter Lupine

Bloom:  May–August
Description:  Annual herb, 1–2'.  Flowers are in whorls on a long raceme.  Bright green palmate leaves with broad leaflets.
Special:  Native.  Dry slopes.    BACK

California Bay

Bloom:  Late winter–early spring
Description:  Evergreen tree, 40–80'.  Bark is green to reddish brown.  Leaves are 2–5", shiny dark green above, paler and dull below.  Berries are greenish-purple, up to 1", enclosing a large brown seed.
Special:  Native.  All parts are aromatic.  Fruits eaten by birds and small animals.  California natives used the saplings for bows, and ground the nuts into meal for small cakes.  Tea was made from the leaves to cure stomach ailments and headaches.  Today, we use the leaves as flavoring for soups and stews.  The wood is prized for furniture, paneling, and woodenware.   BACK

California Bur Clover

Bloom:   All Year
Description:  Annual herb, 6–18".  Yellow pea-shaped flowers.  Trifoliate leaves strongly toothed.  Leaf stipules at base strongly fringed. Stem prostrate.
Special:  Not native; invasive.   BACK

Chaparral Honeysuckle

Bloom:  May–July
Description:  Deciduous, sprawling shrub with yellow honeysuckle flowers.  It has edible but bitter berries.
Special:  Native.  Hummingbirds like the flowers.    BACK

Charlock Mustard

Bloom:  Spring–Fall
Description:  Annual herb, 8–30".  Flowers are 4-petaled, yellow.  Middle & upper leaves toothed, not lobed or clasping.  Lower leaves deeply lobed.  Stem green, often hairy, especially near the base.
Special:  Not native.  Highly invasive, & may be poisonous to livestock.  Considered a noxious weed.   BACK

Common Lomatium

Bloom:  February–May
Description:  Perennial herb, ½–2'.  Tiny yellow flowers.  Leaves divided into linear segments.
Special:  Native.  Grassy places.    BACK

Common Madia

Bloom:    May–September
Description:   Annual herb, ½–3'.  Bright yellow daisylike bloom with numerous 3-toothed ray flowers and several central disk flowers.  The center may be solid yellow or maroon.  Leaves are long, narrow (to 8").  The strongly-scented flower head grows at the end of a slender green stem.  Flowers close at night.
Special:   Native.  Grows in masses.  Its fruits are achenes, which were historically used as food by Native Americans, including the Pomo and Miwok, who baked them or ground them into flour.   BACK

Common Monkeyflower

Bloom:  March–August
Description:  Annual or rhizomed perennial, up to 5'.  Leaves oval, opposite, up to 3".  Inflorescence is a raceme of at least 5 tubular flowers, 5-lobed, 2-lipped, up to 1½" long.  Throat and lower lobes of corolla often have red freckles.  Fleshy stem has smooth leaves.
Special:  Native.  The "red freckles" attract pollinators and act as nectar guides.  Young herbage may be eaten in salads; older leaves grow bitter, but are still edible.  Larvae of the buckeye butterfly feed on this plant.   BACK

Common Mullein

Bloom:  June–August
Description:  2–7' spike.  Leaves are 4–16", ovate & covered with feltlike gray hair.  Flowers are ¾–1", densely packed, 5 round lobes spreading out flat; 5 stamens, the upper 3 with yellow hairs on stalks.
Special:  Not native; invasive.  Ancient Greeks & Romans dipped the stalks in tallow for funeral torches.  Today, children hurl the dried stalks as javelins, the light weight & pointed root sailing them far & straight.   BACK

Common Purslane

Bloom:  June–September
Description:  Annual herb; creeper.  Small 5-petaled yellow flowers.  Leaves succulent and fleshy, spatula-shaped, widest in upper half.
Special:  Not native.  Produces thousands of tiny black seeds.  Brought to the New World as a potherb and medicinal plant.  Spanish Americans use it with tomatoes, onions, and seasonings, calling it Verdolagas.   BACK

Common Senecio

Bloom:  March–June
Description:  Annual herb, 4–20".  Leaves are rough, pinnately lobed.  Stem is filled with milky sap.  Yellow disk flowers emerge slightly above long, green phyllaries, which are pointed & black-tipped.  When the flowers go to seed, they have dandelionlike parachutes.
Special:  Not native.  Common weed in our park.   BACK

Durango Root

Bloom:  May–June?
Description:  Perennial herb.  Grows mainly in wetlands or streamsides.
Special:  Native.  Excerpts from an internet article:  In a handful of species, such as Durango Root, plants with strictly male flowers will appear among bisexuals.  But how do the males find a purpose in life when the females can make their own pollen?  The male flowers are the macho men of the plant world, producing and disseminating nearly four times the pollen of the bisexuals.  The plant is often confused with marijuana, but marijuana is a heterosexual plant.   BACK

Dwarf Cliff Sedum

Description:  Annual herb, 1–10".  Bright yellow flowers with 5 star-shaped petals, 10 anthers.  Bootlace-like stems.
Special:  Native.  Grows in rocky areas and drying vernal pools.   BACK

False Dandelion

Bloom:  Late Spring–Fall
Description:  Perennial herb, 8–18".  Flower dandelionlike; stems smooth above an almost flat rosette of shallowly lobed, hairy leaves. 
Special:  Not native; invasive.  Likes disturbed places.   BACK

Field Mustard

Bloom:  January–June
Description:  Annual herb, 1–4'.  Flowers 4-petaled, bright yellow.  Both lower pinnate leaves and upper arrowhead leaves clasp the stem. 
Special:  Not native; invasive.   BACK

Flannel Bush

Bloom:  May–June
Description:  Evergreen shrub or small tree, 3–12'.  Leaves dark green, ovate or round, sometimes 3-lobed, 1–2", covered by hairs.  Masses of showy clear-yellow flowers in a flat saucer shape with 5 petals, about 2".
Special:  Native.  Hairs may cause irritation if touched.  This tree was planted, but Flannel Bush grows wild near Oakhurst.   BACK

Frying Pans

Bloom:  Spring
Description:  Annual herb, 6–12". Bright yellow flowers, ¼–½".  Petals are pointed, sometimes diamond-shaped, and flat.  Basal leaves are deeply divided into narrow segments.
Special:   Native; limited to California.   BACK

Gambleweed

Bloom:  March–May
Description:  Perennial herb, 1–3'.  Flower umbel is compound, with 2–5 smaller ones.  Leaves are maplelike with spiny margins.  Stems are erect and smooth.  Seeds are oval with spiny hooks.
Special:  Native.  Shady woods.   BACK

Golden Yarrow

Bloom:   May–August
Description:  Perennial shrub or subshrub.  Flowers yellow, 4–6 petals.  Stems woody at base.  Leaves finely pinnate. 
Special:  Native.  Not a true yarrow.  Used medicinally, reputedly for pimples!   BACK

Goldfields

Bloom:  March–May
Description:  Annual herb.  Reddish stem 4–16", sometimes simple, other times branched, bears a few pairs of light-green, very narrow, opposite leaves (½–2½"), stiffly hairy at base, & one or several ½–1" flower heads with about 10 oblong rays surrounding a conical disk.
Special:  Native.   BACK

Hall's Mule Ears

Bloom:   June–August
Description:   Coarse perennial herb, 1–2'.  Large, toothed yellow ray flowers surrounding yellow disk flowers.  Leaves large, grayish, and fuzzy, slightly serrated.
Special:   Native; limited to California.  Seeds edible, tasting like sunflower seeds.  Some Native Americans used the roots as medicine for sores, burns, and rheumatism.   BACK

Harlequin Lupine

Bloom:  April–July
Description:  Annual herb, up to 18".  Leaves palmately compound with 6–8 leaflets, each up to 2" long.  In the cluster of flowers, ¾" long, the banner is yellow, wings are pink, and keel is white.  ¾" fruit is brown, hairy, filled with seeds.
Special:  Native, limited to California.   BACK

Heermann's Tarweed

Bloom:  June–October
Description:  Annual herb, 1–4".  Slender, odorous.  Very narrow leaves, the upper ones tipped with a broad dish-shaped gland.  Yellow flower heads in a narrow cluster, about 1", with 3–8 broad rays, each with 3 teeth at end, the central tooth narrowest.
Special:   Native, limited to California.  Flowers close at midday in hot sun to protect their pollen.  Natives gathered rich, oily seeds in midsummer & made a thin mush from them.   BACK

Hill Lotus

Bloom:  March–June
Description:  Annual herb; creeper.  Small (¼") yellow flowers, one per leaf axil, aging red.  Banner is erect & rounded, with much smaller wings perpendicular to banner.  Leaflets are ¼–½", usually only 4 or 5.  May form mats, usually no more than 2" high.  Reddish stem, leaves, and narrow pointed sepals are covered with stringy white hairs.
Special:   Native.   BACK

Hooker's Evening Primrose

Bloom:  June–December
Description:  Perennial herb, 1–5'.  Bright yellow flowers, lancelike leaves.
Special:  Native.  Prefers moist areas, but also found in dry areas.   BACK

Indian Mallow

Bloom:  Summer–Fall
Description:   Annual herb, 2–6'.  Large velvety leaves, heart-shaped, tapering at the point, toothed or entire.  Stems branched, soft-hairy.  Yellow flowers ½–1", borne singly or in small clusters in the axils.
Special:   Not native.    BACK

Low Hop Clover

Bloom:  All Year
Description:  Annual herb, 6–18", stems often prostrate.  Flowers are tiny yellow heads.  Leaves trifoliate, strongly toothed.
Special:   Not native.   BACK

Menzies' Fiddleneck

Bloom:  April–May
Description:  Annual herb, 1–3'.  Leaves ¾–6" long, narrowly or broadly lanceolate.  Small yellow-orange flowers in coils at ends of branches.  Calyx with 5 narrow lobes; corolla about 1/8", all petals joined to form a funnel with a narrow tube and abruptly flared end.  The leafy stems have both long, spreading, bristly hairs and very short, dense, downward-projecting ones.
Special:  Native.  The name refers to the shape of the coiled flower.  As blooming proceeds, the coil opens.  Herbage & seeds contain toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, poisonous to cattle.   BACK

Moth Mullein

Bloom:  May–September
Description:  Perennial herb, 1–5'.  2–6" leaves, largest in a basal rosette, variously lobed or toothed, becoming smaller toward the flower cluster.  The spire of flowers is pale yellow (sometimes white), 1", 5 round lobes equal sized, stamens 5.  Stalks are covered with red-purple hairs.
Special:  Not native.  The name alludes to the resemblance of the flowers to moths resting on the stem.   BACK

Mountain Violet

Bloom:  April–June
Description:  Perennial herb, up to 4".  Leaves ovate, nearly triangular, toothed margins, to 2", on a basal leaf stalk up to 6" long.  Underside of leaves often purple.  Nodding, funnel-shaped deep lemon-yellow flowers are 5/8" with 5 petals.  The 2 uppermost are purple on the back.  The three lower petals are joined into a spur with purple lines.  Side petals have tiny hairs.
Special:  Native.  Purple lines are nectar guides.  Plant has some flowers that are self-pollinating.  Stems and leaves edible when cooked.   BACK

Mugwort

Bloom:  June–October
Description:  Perennial herb to 3'.  Aromatic foliage, green on top and silvery beneath. The flowers are small and not particularly showy.
Special:  Native.  Can cause dermatitis.  Long history of medicinal uses.    BACK

Narrow-Leaved Meconella

Bloom:  March–May
Description:  Annual herb.  Low plants with paired leaves. This variety has 3 yellow petals and 3 white sepals.
Special:  Native.    BACK

Oxalis

Bloom:  All Year
Description:  Perennial herb.  Yellow flowers 5-petaled.  Leaves trifoliate.  Spreads by rooting at each node.
Special:  Leaves and seedpods (like pickles) are pleasantly sour tasting.  The leaves are rich in Vitamin C, but inhibit absorption of calcium, so should be eaten only occasionally, as in salad.
Special:  Not native; invasive.    BACK

Pineapple Weed

Bloom:  April–May
Description:  Annual herb, 2–12".  Yellow, conical flowerheads (¼–½") nestled in soft, pleasantly fragrant leaves.  Likes disturbed places.
Special:  Not native.   BACK

Pretty Face

Bloom:  March–July
Description:  Perennial, from a corm.  Up to 30".  2–3 basal leaves, up to 1', lanceolate, often withered by bloom time.  Flat wheels of pale creamy yellow; petal segments broad.  Each has 3 petal-like sepals and 3 petals, with a pale purple or green stripe in the middle.
Special:  Native.  The purple stripe acts as a nectar guide for insects.  Corms edible; best eaten after cooking.   BACK

Prickly Lettuce

Bloom:  May–September
Description:  Perennial herb, 2–5'.  Small yellow flower heads open during morning hours.  Single tall, white stem has broad dark gray-green pinnate-lobed leaves.  Yellow prickles cover both sides of each leaf.
Special:  Not native.  Likes disturbed places.  Fluffy parachuted seeds.   BACK

Puncture Vine

Bloom:  April–November
Description:  Annual herb; creeper. Small (¼–½) 5-petal yellow to yellow-orange flowers.  Pinnate leaves 1–2", opposite.
Special:  Not native.  Considered a noxious weed.  Fruit is a hard capsule that has 5 sharp 2-horned segments, which can easily pierce bicycle tires and bare feet.   BACK

Shieldleaf

Bloom:  April–August
Description:  Annual or perennial herb, 8–36".  Four-petaled yellow to purplish flowers are small (½") and odd, urn-shaped.  Flowers are insignificant compared to the unusual leaves, which are round, smooth, & completely surround the stems like an umbrella (1–3").  In the fall, they turn shiny bronze.  Likes open, rocky areas.
Special:  Native.    BACK

Shrubby Butterweed

Bloom:  April–September
Description:  Shrub, 1–3'.  Yellow flowers 1¼", rays not overlapping, in branched clusters.  Bluish-green leaves 1–5", divided into very narrow lobes; upper leaves often simply quite narrow.
Special:  Native.  Can cause minor dermatitis.  One of the most toxic range plants to livestock, particularly new growth.  Once used medicinally by natives.   BACK

Sierra Suncup

Bloom:  March–May
Description:  Annual herb, 2–8".  Clear yellow 4-petaled flowers ¼–½".  Petal bases may have red dots.  Stigma tip is a round lobe.  Leaves long, narrow, with toothed margins.
Special:  Native; restricted to California.  Rare species.    BACK

Silver Puffs

Bloom:  May–July
Description:  Annual herb, 4"–2'.  Single 70- to 100-flowered heads.  Seed heads are white, 5-petal star shape.
Special:  Native.   BACK

Slender Keel Fruit

Bloom:   
Description:  Annual herb, 4–12".  Racemes of small, yellow 4-petaled flowers in the axis of leaflike bracts.  Stems erect to reclining, downy with fine hairs, pinnately divided leaves.
Special:  Native, restricted to California.    BACK

Spiny Sowthistle

Bloom:  June–September
Description:  Annual herb, 1–3'.  Coarse plants with bright yellow flower heads ½–2".  Numerous arrow-shaped leaves clasp stem & are spiny toothed.
Special:  Not native; invasive.  Seeds have parachutes of soft cottony hairs, & birds are fond of them.   BACK

Sunflower

Bloom:  June–September
Description:  Annual herb, 2–13'.  Hairy stems commonly branched in the upper half.  Lower leaves ovate, often heart-shaped, usually with irregular teeth; upper leaves smaller & narrower.  Flower heads 3–5", central maroon disk surrounded by many bright yellow rays.
Special:  Native.  Heads follow the sun (Spanish name means "looks at the sun."  Yellow dye from flowers and black or dull-blue dye from seeds were once important in native basketry & weaving.   BACK

Sun Spurge

Bloom:  Summer–Fall
Description:  Annual herb.  Upper leaves opposite or whorled; juice milky.  Many-branched flower clusters are yellow-green.  Below is a whorl of (usually 5) finely toothed, egg-shaped leaves with rounded tips.  Lower leaves scattered along stem.  Stem smooth.
Special:  Not native.  The acrid, milky sap of Spurges may burn the lips & mouth.  Plants may cause intestinal upset, even death if eaten in quantity.   BACK

Telegraph Weed

Bloom:  All Year (but mostly Fall)
Description:  1–7'.  Many large, round, yellow flowers in a dense cluster near the top of a pole-like stem.  Thick leaves covered with dense, short, white hairs.  Strong creosote-like odor.
Special:  Native; restricted to California.   BACK

Tocolote

Bloom:  May–January
Description:  Annual herb, 1–5'.  Yellow flower heads (½–¾"), with long spines (¾") below.  Cottony-haired leaves linear, extending down the stem.  Well branched.
Special:  Not native; invasive.  Very similar to Yellow Star Thistle.   BACK

Tufted Poppy

Bloom:  May–June
Description:  Annual herb, 8–10".  Flowers are satiny yellow, sometimes with orange centers.  Basal leaves finely dissected.usually with several 4-12" stems from a tuft of finely dissected, basal leaves.  This poppy has a small pedicle and the flowers shatter easily.
Special:  Native; restricted to California.   BACK

Wild Lettuce

Bloom: August–October
Description: Biennial to 6'. Leaves oval to oblong, sharply toothed and clasping. Flowers in numerous small, elongate heads in open-branched groups. Leaves oval to oblong, sharply toothed and clasping.  Flowers in numerous small, elongate heads in open-branched groups.
Special:  Not native.  Was once prescribed by early medical doctors for its purported sedative properties.  May cause dermatitis, or internal poisoning in large doses.   BACK

Wild Radish

Bloom:  February–July
Description:  Annual or biennial herb, 1–4'.  Flowers are various colors, including pink, yellow, and white.  Broad pinnate leaves, varying in size and shape.  Seedpods are elongated and pithy or spongy.
Special:  Not native.    BACK

Woolly Milkweed

Bloom:  May–June
Description:  Perennial herb, ½–2'.  Flowers pale yellow with white "pegs" in center.  Long, oblong leaves in opposite pairs.  Leaves and stems are white woolly-haired.
Special:  Native; limited to California.  Can cause minor dermatitis.    BACK

Yellow Pincushion

Bloom:  March–May
Description:  Annual herb, 6–16".  Large, showy pincushion flower heads of disk flowers only.  Outer petals much larger.  Leaves pinnately divided into very thin segments.
Special:  Native; limited to California.   BACK