Scientific Family
Asteraceae
Synonyms
Baeria chrysostoma, B. hirsutula, B. palmeri, B. chrysostoma subs. gracilis, Lasthenia chrysostoma, Linneaus hirsutula
Other common names
goldfields
common goldfields
valley goldfields
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual
Similar species
Lasthenia coronaria, L. minor, L. gracilis
Height
2 to nearly 16 inches
Riparian
No
Mainly annuals. Simple or freely branched; reddish, wiry, often hairy stems and narrow green leaves. Small daisy-like flowers often bloom at once carpeting open fields with dense masses of bright yellow blooms. Thus its common name of "goldfields".
Mainly annuals; stems erect or reclining, mostly hairy; leaves smooth-margined or 3 to 5 or more toothed; fruits topped by 1 to 7 translucent brown (rarely white) scales; floral bracts 4 to 16, hairy; many yellow disc flowers, 6 to 13 yellow ray flowers.
Habitat
Dry mesas, plains, meadows, slopes, hillsides and roadsides.
Plant Community
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Disturbed Areas
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
1500
High elevation
4500
Flower Characteristics
Flower heads (to 1 inch) have 4 to 16 hairy leaf-like bracts below them. Each head grows singly at the stem top and consists of many tiny tube-like disc flowers forming a dome in the center surrounded by a fringe of 6 to 13 strap-shaped ray flowers.
Flower color
Yellow
Flower shape
Daisy or dandelion-like
Tubular
No
First bloom month
March
Last bloom month
May
Flower clusters
None
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Stems may be single or branched and vary greatly in height due to the amount of rainfall. They're often upright but can grow flat on the ground. Leaves are hairy more often at the leaf base, have smooth or toothed margins and are 3/8 to 2-3/4 inches long.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Green
Leaf shape
Narrow
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Fruit is 1/16 to 1/8 inch long, dry, flattened, linear to club-shaped and may be smooth or hairy. It has a tuft of 1 to 7 narrow, usually brown, glassy, hair-like bristly appendages (scales) on its tip which aids in its dispersal by wind.
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit color
Black, gray, silverish-gray
The fruit contains a single seed which is not released when the fruit reaches maturity. The seed is not fused to the wall of the fruit enabling it to separate more easily.