About Packera breweri (Burtt Davy) W.A.Weber & Á.Löve
Packera breweri, commonly called Brewer's ragwort, is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, Asteraceae. This species is endemic to central California, where it grows in the woodlands and grasslands of the Central Coast Ranges. It occurs most often in mid-southern coastal California counties, such as Kern and Monterey. It is a biennial or perennial herb that grows one erect stem from a fibrous root system and caudex unit. It reaches a maximum height of about one meter, or slightly taller. The plant is mostly hairless, but sometimes has tufts of hairs in its leaf axils. Leaves near the base of the plant can be up to 30 centimeters long; their blades are so deeply divided into lobes that they appear to have leaflets. Each lobe has toothed edges. Leaves growing higher on the stem are smaller, with narrower lobes. Its blooming period falls in April and May. The inflorescence holds many flower heads, each lined with green phyllaries. Each flower head contains many golden yellow disc florets, and generally either 8 or 13 narrow yellow ray florets that measure 1 to 2 centimeters long each. The fruit is an achene around one centimeter long, including its pappus of bristles.
