Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

California brittlebrush Asteraceae Encelia californica Nutt. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: ENCA
Leaf: Alternate, simple, evergreen (drought deciduous), broadly ovate to diamond shaped, 2 to 3 inches long, entire margins or with a few shallow scatered teeth, green above and below.
Flower: Very attractive, bright yellow daisy-like flowers, each 1 to 2 inches across, appearing at the ends of twigs in the spring or after rains.
Fruit: A composite of small achenes.
Twig: Barely woody, light reddish gray, hairless.
Bark: Gray and shallowly furrowed.
Form: Small mounding shrub up to 3 feet tall and equally as wide.
Looks like: brittlebush

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Additional Range Information: Encelia californica is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database
All material 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information