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| Ericameria ericoides |
| Family: Asteraceae (Aster) |
| Flowers — color: yellow, size: 1/4" dia., type: daisy (compound) |
Mock Heather has a minimal daisy flower. Two to six yellow ray florets less than 1/2" long have extended yellow pistils with forked end. The dozen or so yellow disk florets show seberal protruding stamens with narrow anthers. You wouldn't imagine the common name 'goldenbush' until you see this in profuse bloom.
Habit:
Mock Heather is a perennial shrub that rarely exceeds three feet high in BMER. Only fresh green stems produce leaves, and the older stems become gray and woody. They drop their leaves and the older bushes seem half-dead. The stiff leaves are cylindrical spines, less than 1/2" long, that form a fan-shaped cluster. Doesn't grow tall, tends to form an understory to sages and chamise.
Three chaparral shrubs have spiny leaves: chamise, mock heather and sagebrush. Mock heather's leaves are longer than chamise, shorter and stiffer than sagebrush. The newest stems on mock heather are green, and reddish brown on chamise.
Sunny open breaks in the marine chaparral and important for stabilizing coastal dunes.