California Invasive Plant Council

Dittrichia viscosa

Common names: false yellowhead

Dittrichia viscosa (false yellowhead) is a perennial herb/subshrub (family Asteraceae) with golden-yellow flowers and thin toothed leaves found in the Sacramento Valley and San Francisco Bay area in California. It is native to the Mediterranean Basin. It favors grasslands, wetlands, and riparian and bottomland habitat. It reproduces by seed and is spread primarily via wind and water.

Cal-IPC Rating: Watch

CDFA Rating: A?

Explanation of CDFA ratings

• A – A pest of known economic or environmental detriment and is either not known to be established in California or it is present in a limited distribution that allows for the possibility of eradication or successful containment.
• B – A pest of known economic or environmental detriment and, if present in California, it is of limited distribution.
• C – A pest of known economic or environmental detriment and, if present in California, it is usually widespread.
• D – An organism known to be of little or no economic or environmental detriment, to have an extremely low likelihood of weediness, or is known to be a parasite or predator.
• Q – An organism or disorder suspected to be of economic or environmental detriment, but whose status is uncertain because of incomplete identification or inadequate information.
• * – An asterisk next to the rating indicates that a plant is included in the CCR Section 4500 list of California State Noxious Weeds.
• -* – This plant is included in the CCR Section 4500 list of California State Noxious Weeds, but is otherwise not rated.

More details

Assessment(s)

Plant Risk Assessment - An evaluation of the potential for a plant to be invasive in California.

Weed Management Notes

Cal-IPC Newsletter Articles

• EDRR in action: False yellowhead indentification and control at Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard. Morgan, Cree; Calhoun, Phil. Vol 30, Issue 1
• FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK: Renewing the Cal-IPC Inventory. Johnson, Doug. Vol 25, Issue 2

Cal-IPC Symposium Presentations

Presentations are linked where available. Where a presentation is not available, find more information by reading the abstract in the Cal-IPC Symposia Archive.

• Regional EDRR with Bay Area WMAs. Johnson, Doug; Valentine, Nicole (2022)
• Weed Alerts and CDFA Update. Kelch, Dean (2015)
• Weed Alerts! DiTomaso, Joseph (2014)

Other Dittrichia viscosa Information

• CalPhotos - Images of plants taken mostly in California.
• Calflora - Distribution map and records of this species in California.
• CalWeedMapper - Distribution map of this species in California with ability to determine regional priorities.
• EDDMapS - Distribution of this species in North America.
• Jepson Interchange - Information on this plant's taxonomy, biology, and distribution from UC Berkeley's Jepson Herbarium.
• USDA PLANTS Database - Information on identification and distribution, with links to websites in individual states.

Additional photos