Pine Goldenbush is a sturdy shrub in the . It stands between 2 and 8 feet tall, and blooms in both spring and fall with golden-yellow flowers. If you crush some of the needle-like leaves, you can enjoy the piney aroma that gives the plant its name and aids in its identification.
Pine Goldenbush has inch-long, needle-like leaves that often grow in clusters on generally straight, stiff branches. The leaves exude a delightful, pine-like aroma, especially when crushed. In winter and spring, the new growth of Pine Goldenbush is a bright, light green that is quite attention-getting. Later in the year, the leaves are darker. Sometimes, a is visible on the leaves. Pine Goldenbush usually flowers twice a year, in spring and in fall. Depending on the season, the golden-yellow flowers are slightly different in size and appearance. The few in spring are larger overall, with 15 to 30 and many . In fall, the flower heads are smaller, with only 5 to 10 ray flowers, but they are much more numerous. When the flowers go to seed, as with many other plants in the Sunflower family, the bush can be covered with many fluffy balls of seeds with fine white bristles attached. Once the wind disperses the seeds, the dry flower heads remain on the shrub for some time. Pine Goldenbush grows in chaparral, coastal sage scrub, and oak woodland, away from the coast and below 5,500 feet. This shrub is to Southern California – not found elsewhere. It grows in the and , as well as the western . Pine Goldenbush is one of 5 species of Ericameria in the San Gabriel foothills and canyons. Parish’s Goldenbush (E. parishii) is fairly common and grows at somewhat higher elevations. It is a larger shrub, with broader leaves. Rock Goldenbush (E. cuneata) is short, with broad, wedge-shaped leaves, and grows on rocky cliffs. It is much less common than either Pine or Parish’s Goldenbush. Palmer’s Goldenbush (E. palmeri) and Narrowleaf Goldenbush (E. linearifolia) also have narrow leaves, but grow more on the desert side of the mountains and lack the piney fragrance of the leaves. Plants in the Sunflower family provide seeds for a number of seed-eating birds, such as Mourning Dove, Lesser Goldfinch, and American Goldfinch. Sunflower family members are excellent sources of for adult butterflies. Many of the plants commonly called Goldenbush were in the Haplopappus. After further study, botanists moved them all into other genera, including Ericameria, Hazardia, and Isocoma. You may see Pine Goldenbush, in some older books, as Haplopappus pinifolius.
Meaning of the Name:
Ericameria means something like “with parts like Erica”, a heath plant of Europe and South Africa; pinifolia means “pine-leaved”, from the Latin pinus, “pine”, and folia, “leaf”. This meaning is also reflected in the common name.