Constancea nevinii

In the Channel Islands section of my garden, Constancea nevinii is blooming right now. The common name is Nevin's woolly sunflower. This seems an unusual time for it to bloom since it had bloomed in the spring and I haven't watered it since then.

This member of the Asteraceae (aster or sunflower family) is native only to the Channel islands. Since my garden is pretty close to the beach, the environment in my garden is a good approximation of the island setting. The plant quite clearly likes where I have planted it among other Channel Islands species such as Leptosyne gigantea and Dendromecon harfordii. Starting as a one-gallon container, it has now taken over all the space that I will allow it to. In the photo below you see it underneath a very large Santa Cruz Island ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus asplenifolius).

Here's a better look at the beautiful, lacy foliage and the seed heads from the spring bloom.

The California Native Plant Society gives it a ranking of 1B.3 which means very rare in the wild. However, it is commonly available at native plant nurseries. I find it to be easy to grow and relatively drought tolerant at the coast. I don't know how it would perform in warmer inland locations.