Salinas River tarweed facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Deinandra pentactis |
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D. pentactis
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| Deinandra pentactis (D.D.Keck) B.G.Baldwin
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Deinandra pentactis, also known as the Salinas River tarweed, is a special plant found only in North America. It belongs to the sunflower family, which means it's related to many common flowers we see. This plant gets its name because it often grows near the Salinas River and other areas in California's Coast Ranges.
Discovering Salinas River Tarweed
Where Does This Plant Live?
The Salinas River tarweed is an endemic plant. This means it naturally grows in only one specific place in the world. For this plant, that special place is California. You can find it in the Coast Ranges of several counties: San Benito, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and northern Santa Barbara.
What Does This Plant Look Like?
The Deinandra pentactis 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 up to 75 centimeters (about 30 inches) tall.
This plant produces many flower heads. These are not single flowers, but clusters of many small flowers that look like one big flower. Each flower head has five bright yellow ray florets. These are the petal-like parts around the edge. In the center, there are six disc florets. These tiny flowers also have yellow corollas (the main part of the flower). However, their anthers, which hold the pollen, are a pretty red or purple color.
