beach tidytips

This is a petite annual herb producing a short, glandular stem along the ground or somewhat upright to a maximum length of about 18 centimeters. The fleshy green leaves are oval in shape, with the larger ones roughly lobed and up to 4 or 5 centimeters in length. The inflorescence is borne on a short peduncle. The flower head has a base of overlapping green phyllaries which form a cup to hold several small white ray florets. The center is filled with yellow disc florets with purple anthers. The fruits are small achenes of two types. The ray florets yield hairy, curved fruits with no pappus, while the disc florets yield fruits with a long, hairlike pappus.

Beach layia germinates during the rainy season between fall and midwinter, blooms in spring (March to July), and completes its life cycle before the dry season (July to September). Populations tend to be patchy and subject to large annual fluctuations in size and dynamic changes in local distribution associated with the shifts in dune blowouts, remobilization, and natural dune stabilization that occur in the coastal dune ecosystem. Beach layia plants often occur where sparse vegetation traps wind-dispersed seeds, but causes minimal shading. Seeds are dispersed by wind mostly during late spring and summer months. Additionally, beach layia is self-compatible (i.e., able to be fertilized by its own pollen), is capable of self-pollination, and is visited by a variety of insects that may assist in cross-pollination . Although the role of pollinators is currently unclear, sexual reproduction does add to genetic diversity. Beach layia occurs in open spaces of sandy soil between the low-growing perennial plants in the Abronia latifolia—Ambrosia chamissonis herbaceous alliance (dune mat) and Leymus mollis herbaceous alliance (sea lyme grass patches). Typically, the total vegetation cover in both communities is relatively sparse, and many annual species, including beach layia, colonize the space between established, tufted perennials. …