Coastal Tidy Tips

Coastal tidy tips are stout annual wildflowers growing up to 28 inches high. The branched stalk is covered in sticky, haired leaves, which are narrow near the upper stalk and often lobed near the base. The stalks are dotted by many wide, daisy-like flowers. The yellow petals, 7-18 in number, have three-toothed, white tips. The center of the flower is a light yellow. The fruit is an achene, with a single seed.

Basic Information

• Member of the Asteraceae, or sunflower primrose, family

• Annual herb

Habitat

• Native from Baja California north to southwestern Oregon

• Found in foothill woodlands, grasslands, and disturbed areas

Ecological Role

• Frequented by numerous insects, including butterflies and moths

• Food plant for the Bay Checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha) and Heliothodes diminutivus moth

• Seeds eaten by birds

Reproduction

• Blooms in from March to June

Alternative Names

• Common Tidy-tips

Historical Uses

• The Cahuilla, Ohlone, and Mendocion Indians ground the seeds into a many-seeded flour known as pinole