Annuals, 5-20(-30+) cm. Leaf blades simple or 1(-2)-pinnately lobed, terminal lobes filiform, 0.5-1(-1.5) mm wide. Peduncles 5-15(-30+) cm. Calyculi of (3-)5-8 linear bractlets 3-7+ mm, not ciliolate near bases. Phyllaries 5-8, obovate to oblanceolate, 4-6(-7+) mm. Ray florets (5-)8(-12+); laminae 7-10(-15+) mm. Disc florets 20-60(-100+); corollas 2-3.6 mm. Cypselae ± oblong, (2.5-)3-4+ mm, marked adaxially with red dots or dashes, wings corky-thickened, faces ± tuberculate and/or hirtellous. 2n = 24.

Flowering Feb-Jun. Openings in desert scrub, stabilized dunes; 300-1000 m; Ariz., Calif.

Coreopsis californica may occur sporadically in New Mexico.

Duration: Annual

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Forb/Herb

General: Erect, virtually glabrous annual with stems 5-20 cm tall, each monocephalous, leafy near base, slightly reddish.

Leaves: Alternate, basal leaves erect or strongly ascending, linear-filiform, about 0.5-1 mm wide, simple or 1-2 pinnately lobed, terminal lobes filiform, glabrous except for a few widely scattered, capitate hairs.

Flowers: Solitary on peduncles 5-15 cm long, heads 6-10 mm high by 10-35 mm wide, involucres ellipsoid-tubular, rounded at base, outer bracts pale green or flecked with red, phyllaries 5-8 obovate to oblanceolate 4-6 mm; 5-12 ray florets, yellow, 5-15 mm long; 20-60 disc florets 2-3.6 mm long.

Fruits: Oblong cypselae, 3-4 mm, marked above by red dots or dashes, marginal wing corky, apex of cypselae, forming a short cupule, no pappus.

Ecology: Found on dry flats, along washes, on slopes often in openings from 1,000-3,500 ft ( 305-1067 m); flowers February-June.

Notes: Distinguished by lack of pappi and the cypselae being marked with red dots or dashes.

Ethnobotany: Unknown, but other species in the genera have many uses.

Etymology: Coreopsis is from the Greek koris, a bug, and -opsis, which means a resemblance, refers to the cypselae, while californica means of or from Californica.

Synonyms: None

Editor: SBuckley, 2010