Layia platyglossa, Tidy Tips

An easy to grow native annual for open sunny areas. It has a wide natural distribution from the coast to inland valleys, Mendocino County to Baja. Foliage grows 6-12 inches tall in lean soils and taller with more fertility. Cheerful, one-inch, yellow daisies with pure white tipped petals entice bees and butterflies. Birds love the seeds. A knockout mixed with the blues and purples of lupines or Baby Blue Eyes, and the orange of California Poppies. Does not need water once established.

Like other members of this family, it has composite flower heads about 1 inch in diameter. Its 5 to 18 outer ray flowers are bright golden yellow with distinct, sharp-margined white tips. The inner disk flowers are numerous and yellow-orange. It is a popular garden ornamental and ingredient in commercial wildflower seed mixes as it works well with many other plants.

It is native to California’s low-elevation dry habitats in the Coast Ranges, Central Valley, Channel Islands, and southern coastal plain where it is a member of spring wildflower displays in meadows and grasslands. It is found in many different habitats.