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Taxon  Report  
Palafoxia arida  B. L. Turner & M. I. Morris  var. gigantea  (M. E. Jones) B. L. Turner & M. I. Morris
Giant spanish needle
Palafoxia arida var. gigantea is an annual or perennial herb that is native to California, and also found in Arizona.
also called Palafoxia linearis var. gigantea
California Rare Plant Rank: 1B.3 (rare, threatened, or endangered in CA and elsewhere).
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
Observation Search
(96 records)
yellowone or more occurrences
within a 7.5-minute quadrangle
bloom graphic
Bloom Period
Parent: Palafoxia arida
Genus: Palafoxia
Family: Asteraceae  
Category: angiosperm  
PLANTS group:Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Habitat: dunes

Communities: Creosote Bush Scrub, Alkali Sink

Name Status:
Accepted by JEF + CNPS + PLANTS
Alternate Names:
CNPS + PLANTSPalafoxia linearis var. gigantea
Information about  Palafoxia arida var. gigantea from other sources
Nursery availability from CNPLX
Commercial availability unknown.
Jepson eFlora

USDA PLANTS Profile (PAARG)

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Google Images

Photos on iNaturalist

ID Tips on PlantID.net


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals, including the Consortium of California Herbaria. [web application]. 2023. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 02/07/2023).