Coast Range Mule Ears, Shining Mule Ears
Wyethia glabra
NATIVE – CA ENDEMIC
Description (Jepson, PlantID.net)
- Eudicotyledon
- Eudicots are a major lineage of flowering plants; see family for general characteristics
- Sunflower Family (Asteraceae)
- Perennial herb
- Grows from a taproot and caudex (persistent, often woody base of a perennial herb)
- Leaves
- Mostly basal, alternate
- Large (to 18 in.), wide, lance-shaped to oval
- Usually shiny, smooth, and hairless
- Cauline leaves (along the stem) similar but smaller
- Flowers
- Inflorescence (flower arrangement) usually a single golden-yellow flowerhead
- Radiate head (see Sunflower family), up to 2 in. in diameter
- 20-27 outer 3-lobed ray flowers, up to 2in. long, suggesting petals
- 35-150+ central disk flowers
- Phyllaries (vase-like floral bracts, collectively called the involucre) in 2-3 series, with the outer large and leaf-like, ≥ the ray flowers
- Stalk of the entire inflorescence (peduncle) 8-12 in. long and softly hairy
- Ovary inferior (attached below other flower parts)
- Fruit is an achene (a single-seeded, dry fruit that does not split open)
- Height to 16 in.
Distribution
- Native and endemic (limited) to California
- Grows generally in shady areas
- See Calflora for statewide observations of this plant
- Grows at elevations to 3,120 ft.
Uses (San Mateo County Parks prohibits removal of any natural material)
- Wildlife
- Frequented by numerous insects including butterflies seeking nectar, e.g. monarch (Danaus plexippus), variable checkerspot (Euphydryas chalcedona), and propertius duskywing (Erynnis propertius)
- Larval food source (host) for the painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui)
- Native people
- Young plant shoots eaten (Anderson 2005)
- Seeds used in pinole or eaten fresh
- Pinole is a general term for various flours made from the ground, toasted seeds of wildflowers and grasses, eaten dry or moistened and shaped into balls or cakes (Anderson 2005)
- “Pinole” is a Hispanic version of an Aztec word
Name Derivation
- Wyethia (wy-ETH-ee-a) – named in 1834 by botanist Thomas Nuttall for Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth (1802-1856), an American inventor (e.g. ice harvesting tools), plant collector, and explorer
- Wyeth was an Oregon pioneer, establishing the pathway that became known as the Oregon trail, and is distantly related to the painter Andrew Wyeth
- glabra (GLAY-bra) – from the Latin, meaning “smooth or hairless” referring to the leaf
- Mule ears – referring to the shape of the leaves, which are particularly large and wide on some species, e.g. smooth mule ears
Notes
- Flora of North America notes that “Wyethia glabra grows in the Coast Ranges, often in the fog belt”
- At Edgewood, this species is found at the north side of the preserve, which is most influenced by coastal fog from the HIghway 92 cut
ID Tips
- May be confused with narrow-leaved mule ears (W. angustifolia)
| Narrow-leaved Mule Ears | Smooth Mule Ears | |
Leaves | narrow, often wavy-edged … rough or hairy | wide, smooth-edged … smooth and shiny |
| Phyllaries¹ | shorter than ray flowers | longer than ray flowers |
Habitat | full sun … open grasslands | part shade … woodland edges |
At Edgewood
- Found usually in part shade, often at the margin of woodlands
- See iNaturalist for observations of this plant
- Flowers March – June
Specific References
Anderson, M.K. 2005. Tending the Wild. University of California, Berkeley.
Caldwell, J.A. 2014. California Plants as Resources for Lepidoptera: a Guide for Gardeners, Restorationists and Naturalists.
Mitchell, M. 2017. Asteraceae: Sunflower family – Heliantheae (sunflower) tribe: miscellaneous 2. Monterey County Wildflowers, Trees, and Ferns – A Photographic Guide.
Shapiro, A.M. and T.D. Manolis. 2007. Field Guide to Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Valley Regions. University of California Press, Berkeley – Los Angeles, California.