Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate shrubland
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Uncommon

About

California broomsage is a native California shrub with slender, broom-like branches and tiny scale-like leaves so small they're almost invisible — earning it the alternate name "scale broom." It blooms in late summer and fall with clusters of small yellow daisy-family flowers, a key late-season nectar source for pollinators in chaparral and desert-edge habitats.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Lepidospartum
Species: Lepidospartum squamatum