Asteraceae: Sunflower Family – Mutiseae (Mutisia) Tribe

The Sunflower family is a very large family with over 25,000 members.  Botanists subdivide the family into a number of tribes, of which 14 are present in Monterey County.  The Mutisia tribe has two members in this county, one of which is found only in the extreme south.

Trail Plant – Adenocaulon bicolor

Blooms:

July–Oct

Plant Height:

30–100 cm

Flower Size:

Very small

Origin:

Native

Habitat:

Uncommon, generally in damp, shady redwood forests

Notes:

Most easily recognized by its distinctive, shallowly-lobed triangular leaves, green above but white-woolly beneath. Tiny white flowers are borne in small clusters on tall, loosely-branched stems. Club-shaped fruits with black, stalked glands at their base are also distinctive.