Tolpis barbata

Annual from the Asteraceae family, native to the Mediterranean basin, from the Iberian Peninsula to the North African coasts, with scattered stations up to Macaronesia. It colonizes sandy and gravelly grounds, roadsides, open garrigues, and dry lawns, always in full light and on well-drained substrates.

The plant is low and branched from the base, rarely reaching more than 20 to 35 cm. The leaves are oblong to slightly toothed, arranged in a sparse basal rosette, of medium green. The slender stems each bear a solitary capitulum of a pale almost sulfur yellow, distinctly bicolored, with a central brown-orange to dark brown disc that strongly contrasts with the lighter peripheral ligules — this is the most immediately recognizable feature of the species.

In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from March to June depending on altitude and latitude. In cultivation under a temperate climate, it blooms from May to July.

It is sown directly in place in spring, in a very draining, poor soil, in full sun. It does not tolerate excess moisture or heavy soils. Its cultivation is easy in Mediterranean-style rock gardens or gravel gardens; it reseeds spontaneously in conditions that suit it.