California Aster, Corethrogyne filaginifolia

About California Aster (Corethrogyne filaginifolia) 29 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Corethrogyne filaginifolia (syn. Lessingia filaginifolia) is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names Common Sandaster and California Aster. The taxonomy of this plant and certain relatives is currently changing; recently the Corethrogynes have been grouped together under the name Lessingia filaginifolia, and then moved back to genus Corethrogyne as a single species with many synonyms.

It is native to western North America from the southwestern corner of Oregon to Baja California, where it is a common member of many plant communities, including chaparral and woodlands, forests, scrub, grasslands, and the serpentine soils flora.

This is a robust perennial herb or subshrub producing a simple to multibranched stem approaching a meter in maximum length or height. The densely woolly leaves are several centimeters long and toothed or lobed low on the stem and smaller farther up the stem.

The flower cluster is a single flower head or array of several heads at the tips of stem branches. The head is lined with narrow, pointed, purple-tipped phyllaries which curl back as the head matures. Inside are many purple, lavender, pink, or white ray florets and a center packed with up to 120 tubular yellow disc florets. The fruit is an achene with a pappus of reddish bristles on top.

California Aster appears to do best in rocky slopes and sloping rock gardens. They often don't do as well on flat areas. On dry slopes surrounded by rocks, the plant will usually stay beautiful year round. If happy, it will often reseed and pop up in nearby rocky places.

This plant is very drought tolerant if situated properly. It is not tolerant of summer water, which will often kill it after its first year. California Aster is available in nurseries primarily in low-growing, spreading varieties. 'Silver Carpet' is one of the most beautiful and popular.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Perennial herb

Size

0.7 - 3.3 ft tall
1 - 6 ft wide

Form

Mounding, Spreading

Growth Rate

Fast

Dormancy

Evergreen

Fragrance

None

Flower Color

Pink, Purple, White

Flowering Season

Summer, Fall, Winter

Wildlife Supported

A variety of insects
Bird gardens

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 confirmed

, 4 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Gabb's Checkerspot Chlosyne gabbiiChlosyne gabbii

Orange Tortrix Moth Argyrotaenia franciscanaArgyrotaenia franciscana

Cucullia eccissicaCucullia eccissica

Snakeweed Borer Pelochrista ridingsanaPelochrista ridingsana

Cucullia incresaCucullia incresa

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun, Part Shade

Moisture

Very Low

Summer Irrigation

Max 1x / week once established, Never irrigate once established

Nurseries

Carried by 29

Ease of Care

Moderately Easy

Soil Drainage

Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil Description

Tolerant of sand and clay. Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0

Common uses

Groundcovers, Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants

Buckwheat (Eriogonum species), Bushmallow (Malacothamnus species), Sticky Monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus), Yucca species and cactus species

Maintenance

The spreading varieties may need annual pruning to maintain their shape. Can be deadheaded.

Sunset Zones?

7*, 8, 9*, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting

Site Type

Rocky slopes, coastal bluffs, canyons along the coast, Coast and Transverse Ranges, and foothills of the Sierras, where it occurs along with coastal sage scrub or chaparral, pine and oak woodland in sandy soils

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 5.2" - 103.7", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 2.83", Coldest Month: 23.4" - 57.1", Hottest Month: 46.2" - 84.2", Humidity: 0.04" - 34.96", Elevation: -228" - 10807"

Alternative Names

Botanical Names: Lessingia filaginifolia var. californica,Lessingia filaginifolia var. filaginifolia,Lessingia filaginifolia,Corethrogyne filaginifolia var. filaginifolia,Corethrogyne filaginifolia var. linifolia,Corethrogyne filaginifolia var. incana,Corethrogyne leucophylla
Common Names: California Sandaster, Common Sandaster, Del Mar Mesa Sand Aster, Del Mar Mesa Sandaster

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

California Aster

Corethrogyne filaginifolia

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California AsterCorethrogyne filaginifolia

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California Aster

Corethrogyne filaginifolia