Red-rayed hulsea looks quite a bit different from the other hulseas I've seen with its numerous narrow red rays (see for comparison Parry's hulsea, San Gabriel mountains hulsea, San Diego hulsea and alpine gold hulsea).  It is an annual or short-lived perennial that can grow to 5' tall but is usually shorter.  It is densely glandular, heavy-
scented and villous with several erect leafy stems.  The leaves are oblong in outline, green, up to 4" long, sessile and coarsely toothed, especially below. The flowering heads are about 3/4" in diameter, and the phyllaries are lanceolate-linear with tips that are long-accuminate.  The ray flowers are hirsute and glandular, 30-60 in number, and red-purple in color.  The fruits are about 1/4" long and very hairy, with pappus scales that are strongly unequal.  Red-rayed hulsea appears in forest clearings and chaparral, often recent burned sites, from 3000'-8000' in the San Bernardino, San Jacinto and San Gabriel Mountains, blooming from June to August. These pictures were taken just below the summit of Throop Peak in late August.

Click here for Latin name derivations: 1) Hulsea  2) heterochroma.
Pronunciation: HUL-see-a het-er-oh-KRO-ma.
Click here for Botanical Term Meanings.