Description

Silver beachweed grows along the immediate coast throughout California and beyond. In the SF Bay Area it occurs within the Bay where the influence of the Pacific is most pronounced. Its form varies from place to place. It grows as a low or mounding ground cover with a spreading habit. The leaves are light green and deeply lobed with a coating of fine hairs which aid in capturing marine moisture. The flower stocks are upright and prominent. The small yellow flowers produce spiny brown seeds. The silver beachweed is something of an experiment in interior gardens. A dry, sunny site with well-draining soil is a good place to start. It would make an interesting plant in the foreground of darker leaved, dry-loving plants such as ceanothus.