This is Microseris bigelovii, a nice annual wildflower that grows along the coast. The Jepson Manual doesn't list a common name for it. When I realized that, I thought it deserved a common name, so I started playing around with ideas.
Below I'll tell you the name I came up with, and here's a hint: I'm not sure you can tell from this picture, but it has a very pretty orange hue. Do you want to try to come up with a common name?
So I've decided to call this flower Bigelow's Tangerine. It has a certain ring to it, doesn't it? And it describes the petal color and refers to the person for whom it was named.
Later I learned that Microseris bigelovii is sometimes called Coastal Silverpuffs, in reference to the rounded head of seeds (similar to a dandelion). But I think I'll keep calling it Bigelow's Tangerine. I can't help it...it sounds exotic, and it's fun to say!
Let me know if you came up with other ideas!
P.S. This flower was named after Dr. John Milton Bigelow —
a professor of botany at Detroit Medical College who participated in the Pacific Railroad Survey of 1853-1854 and several other collecting trips in California.
