Wirelettuce Characteristics (this specimen)
Growth habit: approx 3' tall
Number of Ligules: 13
Phyllaries: Reflexed
Length of the peduncle (between stem and phyllary): Short
Location: growing on southern-exposed, hot, dry Black Mountain Trail at approximately 1000ft elevation.
Blooming: July
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Wirelettuce (Stephanomeria) References:
Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=619
Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, p. 55.
Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, p. 60 (only lists S. elata) July-Sept
Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016, pp. 21-23.
Monterey County Wildflowers– a photographic guide https://montereywildflowers.com/asteraceae-stephanomeria/
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Wirelettuce (Genus Stephanomeria) Native, annual, leaves usually withered by bloom time in summer/late summer. Fruit is cylindric, each face generally with long, narrow, central groove.
Central Coast of California (CCo) Wirelettuce species:
Stephanomeria elata. A.k.a. Santa Barbara Wire Lettuce. Corollas have 9-15 bright pink, sometimes overlapping ligules, the largest number of this Genus in Monterey County. Flowers are on short, 3-7 mm peduncles. Outer phyllaries are generally reflexed. Fruits are grooved and roughened and the pappus is wholly plumose (feather-like from top to bottom). Grows in open/sunny places in sandy soils coastal and inland. Peak bloom time: July-Sept. Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=5147 Monterey County Wildflowers, p. 21.
Stephanomeria virgata subsp. pleurocarpa. A.k.a. Wand or Tall Wire Lettuce. Stem: single, long, central, "wand-like." Plant is tall and can be widely branching. Phyllaries appressed. Ligules: 5-6. Peduncles 3-10mm. Ecology: chaparral openings and grassland. Peak bloom time: June-Nov. Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=6227
Stephanomeria virgata ssp. virgata. A.k.a. Rod Wire Lettuce. Stem: single, long, central, "wand-like." Plant is tall and can be widely branching. Phyllaries strongly reflexed. Ligules: 8--9, (occasionally 7). Peduncles 3-10mm. Ecology: Chaparral openings, grassland. Peak bloom time: Jun-Oct. Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=6228
Stephanomeria exigua subsp. carotifera. A.k.a. Small Wire Lettuce. 7-9 ligules, reflexed phyllaries, heads in panicle-like clusters, long peduncle 10-25mm (0.4" -1"), S Lucias, Diablo Range, (lots in So. Cal., no confirmed obs. in Monterey County)
Stephanomeria exigua subsp. coronaria. A.k.a. Small Wire Lettuce. 5-11 ligules, appressed phyllaries, S. Lucias, Diablo Range, (One confirmed obs. in Monterey County)
