Pentachaeta aurea

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}

{{Speciesbox

|image = Pentachaeta aurea ssp aurea.jpg

|image_caption = Pentachaeta aurea subsp. aurea

|status = G4

|status_system = TNC

|status_ref =

|genus = Pentachaeta

|species = aurea

|authority = Nutt.

|synonyms = Chaetopappa aurea

}}

Pentachaeta aurea is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names golden-rayed pentachaeta,[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?609,1673,1675 Pentachaeta aurea.] The Jepson Manual. golden chaetopappa,[https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PEAU3 Pentachaeta aurea.] USDA Plants Profile. and golden leastdaisy.[http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Pentachaeta+aurea Pentachaeta aurea.] NatureServe. 2012. It is native to southern California, where it grows in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains and the Peninsular Ranges, and northern Baja California. It is an annual herb with a hairy stem reaching a maximum height near 36 centimeters from a slender taproot. The narrow linear leaves are up to 5 centimeters long but only a few millimeters wide and may be very hairy. The inflorescence is a solitary flower head, with up to 22 heads per plant. The flower head bears many yellow, brownish, or whitish ray florets 3 to 12 millimeters long, and has a center of many five-lobed yellow to reddish disc florets. The fruit is an achene tipped with a pappus of bristles.