Threeray tarweed facts for kids

Deinandra lobbii, also known as threeray tarweed, is a special plant found in North America. It belongs to the "tarweed tribe," which is part of the big sunflower family. Think of it like a cousin to the sunflowers you might see!

Where Does Threeray Tarweed Grow?

This plant is endemic to California. This means it naturally grows only in California and nowhere else in the world!

However, its home in California is a bit unusual. It has a discontinuous or "spotty" distribution. This means it's not found everywhere in California, but only in certain separate areas.

You can find Deinandra lobbii in these parts of California:

• The northeastern area, including Modoc, Lassen, and Shasta counties.
• The San Francisco Bay region, in Solano, Contra Costa, and Alameda counties.
• The west-central region, covering Monterey, San Benito, and the northern part of San Luis Obispo counties.

There was also a report of it in Santa Clara County. But this plant was found on the Stanford University campus. It was most likely a plant that someone planted there, not one growing naturally.

What Does Threeray Tarweed Look Like?

Deinandra lobbii is an annual herb. This means it's a plant that lives for only one growing season, from seed to flower to seed, and then it dies. It can grow up to 70 centimeters (about 28 inches) tall.

This plant has many flower heads that look very colorful. Each flower head usually has 3 (sometimes 4) bright yellow ray florets. These are like the "petals" you see around the edge of a sunflower.

In the center of each head, there are also 3 (sometimes 4) disc florets. These are the tiny flowers in the middle. They have yellow corollas (the main part of the flower) and red or dark purple anthers. The anthers are the parts that hold the pollen.