Coastal Tidytips

(Layia platyglossa)
 
Coastal Tidytips
Coastal Tidytips abound in the spring on serpentine at Inspiration Point.
Will Elder, NPS
 

Origin Of Genus Name: Layia is named for botanist George Tradescent Lay, who visited California in the early 19th century.

Presidio Locations: Found in serpentine grassland.

Range In State: Northern-central to southern California coast.

Description: This native annual of the Sunflower Family has 2-3 inch yellow, daisy-like flowers with white at the petal tips. Narrow, lobed leaves are on stems a foot or more in height. Coastal Tidytips is a food source for the threatened Bay Checkerspot Butterfly. Blooms April to May.

Native Californian Uses: The Ohlone ate the seeds as pinole, a ground meal.

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Did You Know?

Refugees in line for supplies, 1906

In the three days following the 1906 earthquake, the Army's refugee camps at the Presidio issued 3,000 tents, 12,000 shelter halves, 13,000 ponchos, 58,000 pairs of shoes, and 24,000 regulation blue shirts.