About Layia munzii D.D.Keck
Munz' tidytips, with the scientific name Layia munzii, is an annual herb. It grows an erect or trailing glandular stem that reaches up to roughly half a meter in height. Its leaves are linear to lance-shaped, and are sometimes lobed. Each flower head has a base made up of rough-haired, glandular phyllaries. The face of the flower head holds a fringe of yellow ray florets tipped with white, plus yellow disc florets that have purple anthers. The fruit this plant produces is an achene; fruits that develop from the disc florets usually have a white pappus. This species is endemic to California's San Joaquin Valley. Most of its original native range has been lost, after valley land was converted for agricultural use. A large population still survives on the grasslands of the Carrizo Plain, located in eastern San Luis Obispo County. This plant is closely related to an even rarer species, Layia leucopappa, which grows in a small restricted habitat nearby in the Tehachapi Mountains.
