Hall's tarplant facts for kids

Hall's tarplant, officially known as Deinandra halliana, is a unique plant found in California. It belongs to the sunflower family, which is a very large group of plants. This plant is often called a "tarplant" because some plants in its group can feel a bit sticky, like tar.

Discovering Hall's Tarplant

Hall's tarplant is a special type of plant. It is part of the tarweed tribe. This tribe includes many plants that are native to North America. Scientists study these plants to learn more about their features.

Where Hall's Tarplant Lives

This plant grows in the central part of California. You can find it in areas called the Coast Ranges. These are mountain ranges near the Pacific Ocean. It has been seen in counties like Monterey, Fresno, San Benito, and San Luis Obispo.

What Hall's Tarplant Looks Like

Hall's tarplant is an annual herb. This means it grows from a seed, flowers, produces new seeds, and then dies all within one year. It can grow quite tall, reaching up to 120 cm (about 4 feet).

Its Flowers

This plant produces many flower heads. These are not single flowers but clusters of many tiny flowers. Each flower head has two main types of tiny flowers:

• Ray florets: These are like the "petals" you see on a sunflower. Hall's tarplant has 8 to 14 yellow ray florets.
• Disc florets: These are the tiny flowers in the center of the head. Hall's tarplant can have as many as 60 disc florets. They have yellow corollas (the colorful part of the flower) and yellow or brown anthers (the part that holds pollen).