logo Calflora, a 501c3 non-profit
Taxon  Report  
Helminthotheca echioides  (L.) Holub
Bristly ox-tongue
Helminthotheca echioides is an annual or perennial herb that is not native to California.
Cal-IPC rating: limited
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
~2962 records in California
redone or more occurrences
within a 7.5-minute quadrangle
DJJJASONAFMM

Bloom Period
Genus: Helminthotheca
Family: Asteraceae  
Category: angiosperm  
PLANTS group:Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Wetlands: Equally likely to occur in wetlands and non wetlands

Habitat: disturbed

Communities: wetland-riparian, weed, characteristic of disturbed places

Name Status:
Accepted by JEF

Alternate Names:
JEFPicris echioides
PLANTSPicris echioides
Information about  Helminthotheca echioides from other sources

[Cal-IPC] Invasive: Helminthotheca echioides (bristly oxtongue) is a winter or summer annual, or occasionally a biennial (family Asteraceae). It is common throughout most of California, except the deserts, and is typically found in seasonally wet places. Cal-IPC Rating: Limited (contributed by Mary Ann Machi)

[Wikipedia] Europe & North Africa native, Troublesome weed: Helminthotheca echioides, known as bristly (or prickly) oxtongue, is a sprawling annual or biennial herb native to Europe and North Africa. It was originally placed within the genus Picris but is often separated within the small genus Helminthotheca alongside a few other (mainly North African) plants which also have the distinctive outer row of bracts around the flowerheads. It is a ruderal plant, found on waste ground and agricultural soils around the world, and in some places it is considered a troublesome weed. (contributed by Mary Ann Machi)


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2024. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 04/28/2024).