PLANT of the MONTH   ~~   JUNE 2010
updated on or about the 1st of each month

Bush Sunflower Common Name(s): Bush Sunflower, California Sunflower, California Brittlebush, California Encelia Scientific Name: Encelia californica Family: Asteraceae, Sunflower family Plant Type: perennial shrub Size: up to 5 feet high Common Habitat: Chaparral and Coastal Sage Scrub

The bright, showy yellow blooms of Bush Sunflower can be found dotting hillsides from February to June. This fairly common plant takes the shape of a much-branched shrub, with hairy grayish-green stems supporting alternating lance-shaped leaves 1 to 3 inches long. The solitary flowers are found at the ends of long stalks. The central disk of the flower is a brownish color (sometimes with yellow) and is up to an inch in diameter. Striking yellow ray florets extend from the brownish center, their lengths commonly a bit longer than the diameter of the disk.

Like other sunflowers, bees, butterflies and insects are attracted to the plant's blossoms. The Bush Sunflower does not tolerate frost, and thus is somewhat limited in its geographical range to the more moderate climates within California such as near the coast or in the lower-elevation foothills.

The genus name Encelia comes from Christoph Entzelt, a German clergyman and naturalist who lived in the 1500s and wrote about the medicinal uses of plants and animals.

Contributed by Liz Baumann

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REFERENCES:
Wildflowers of the Santa Monica Mountains, by Milt McAuley
Flowering Plants: The Santa Monica Mountains, Coastal and Chaparral Regions of Southern California, by Nancy Dale
Roadside Plants of Southern California, by Thomas J. Belzer
California Native Plants for the Garden, by Carol Bornstein, David Fross, and Bart O'Brien
California Herbal Remedies, by LoLo Westrich