Cliff Goldenbush
Ericameria cuneata
Family: Asteraceae
Naturally, this mostly evergreen shrub grows out of rock crevices, and usually forms about a 3'x3’ plant, sometimes just handing from a vertical wall. This plant is rarely in cultivation but is a pretty plant worth troubling oneself for. Flowers in late summer and into the fall with golden yellow flowers, followed by tan achenes.
Grow in full sun, in very well-drained soil, can grow in sand too. Moderate to low water. Hardy at least as below 0°F, probably a lot lower.
Yellow flowers are irresistible to native bees and butterflies.
Eric- is ancient root for heath or broom, and amari means bitter; cuneata means wedge-shaped. There are 40 species of Ericameria distributed in western Canada (Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia) western United States (from the western Great Plains to the Pacific) and northern Mexico.
Varieties
Ericameria cuneata var. cuneata - California
Ericameria cuneata var. macrocephala - San Diego County in California
Ericameria cuneata var. spathulata - California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Baja California
Found on rocky slopes, often on canyon walls and among rocky outwash slopes from 2,500-6,000 ft. mostly in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada, and slipping into Sonora and Baja California.
Photo by Sue Carnahan, SEINET
Ericameria cuneata on iNaturalist
Post flower achenes, photo by Fred Melgert / Carla Hoegen, iNaturalist
Plants are almost always found growing out of rock crevices, photo by timhanson81 , iNaturalist