About Lessingia glandulifera A.Gray
Lessingia glandulifera A.Gray is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae, commonly known by the common name valley lessingia. It is native to California and Baja California, where it grows in a range of habitat types, from forest and desert to the coastline. This species is an annual herb that varies in maximum height from under 10 to nearly 80 centimeters, with a growth form that ranges from erect to decumbent. Plants can be hairless to very hairy, and are glandular. Its leaves are widely lance-shaped and toothed; the lowest leaves can reach up to 11 centimeters in maximum length. Upper leaves are often dotted with knobby glands. Flower heads grow singly at the tips of stem branches. Each head is lined with phyllaries that are covered in large glands, and sometimes covered in many hairs. The head is discoid, meaning it contains no ray florets, but instead holds many funnel-shaped disc florets whose lobes resemble ray florets. These disc florets are yellow, with brown throats. The fruit produced is an achene that bears a whitish pappus.
