''Holocarpha virgata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

known by the common names yellowflower tarweed, pitgland tarweed, and narrow tarplant.CalFlora taxon report, University of California: ''Holocarpha virgata''
/ref>

Distribution

''Holocarpha virgata'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where it is most common in the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...

and

Sacramento Valley The Sacramento Valley is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies north of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the Sacramento River. It encompasses all or parts of ten Northern California ...

of the Central Valley, and adjacent foothills of the Inner Coast Ranges and

Sierra Nevada (U.S.) The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

.CalFlora: Distribution map
. accessed 11.14.2013 There are additional populations in foothills of the

Peninsular Ranges The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Pacific Coast Range ...

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

, western

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

, and Orange County.Flora of North America: ''Holocarpha virgata''
/ref>

Description

''Holocarpha virgata'' is an annual herb producing an erect stem to over tall. It has many branches and is lined with oily glands and hairs. The linear leaves are up to long near the base of the plant and those along the stem are much smaller. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is made up of several short branches lined densely in small, thick, green

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

s. The bracts are just a few millimeters long and are tipped with

glands A gland is a Cell (biology), cell or an Organ (biology), organ in an animal's body that produces and secretes different substances that the organism needs, either into the bloodstream or into a body cavity or outer surface. A gland may also funct ...

. At the ends of the branches are

flower heads A pseudanthium (; : pseudanthia) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, composite flowers ...

, each lined with

phyllaries In botanical terminology, a phyllary, also known an involucral bract or tegule, is a single bract of the involucre of a composite flower. The involucre is the grouping of bracts together. Phyllaries are reduced leaf-like structures that form one o ...

which are covered in knobby resin glands. Each head contains 9-25 disc florets which are yellow with black or purplish anthers. The head has a fringe of 3-7 yellow ray florets which often have lobed tips. ;Subspecies *''Holocarpha virgata'' subsp. ''elongata'' D. D. Keck -

, western

, and Orange County *''Holocarpha virgata'' subsp. ''virgata'' - Central Valley, etc.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Holocarpha virgata''
*
United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile for ''Holocarpha virgata''''Holocarpha virgata'' — Calphotos Photo gallery, University of California
Madieae Endemic flora of California Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Central Valley (California) Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of San Diego County, California Plants described in 1859 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Asteroideae-stub