Common name:
Sea dahlia
Family:
Scientific name:
Coreopsis maritima
Synonym:
Leptosyne maritima
Main flower color:
Range:
Far southwestern California
Height:
Up to 16 inches
Habitat:
San dunes, bluffs, chaparral, from sea level to 300 feet
Leaves:
Hairless, divided into long, narrow, linear lobes
Season:
February to June
Coreopsis maritima is mostly found only in San Diego County, southwest California, close to the coast. The flowerheads resemble many other asteraceae species but the leaves are quite distinctive, divided into narrow, linear lobes, around one inch long, with a depressed midvein, and round-pointed tip.
Flowerheads may be solitary or in groups of up to four, attached by long, grooved, hairless stalks, up to 10 inches. The involucre is subtended by a ring of up to 11 spreading, narrowly triangular bracts, the calyculi; these are green, with several parallel veins. Phyllaries number 12 or 13; these are lance-shaped, greenish-yellow, and stay pressed against the involucre. Flowerheads have between 16 and 20 broad, yellow ray florets, and 100 or more disc florets.
Flowerheads may be solitary or in groups of up to four, attached by long, grooved, hairless stalks, up to 10 inches. The involucre is subtended by a ring of up to 11 spreading, narrowly triangular bracts, the calyculi; these are green, with several parallel veins. Phyllaries number 12 or 13; these are lance-shaped, greenish-yellow, and stay pressed against the involucre. Flowerheads have between 16 and 20 broad, yellow ray florets, and 100 or more disc florets.
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