The California coast sunflower is a medium size evergreen shrub with a mounding habit growing 3-4 ft. tall and 4-5 ft. (occasionally 6′) wide. Foliage is comprised of deep green leaves that contrast well with showy lemon-yellow daisy-like flowers with dark centers.
Coastal encelia is a California native plant that occurs on several coastal islands as well as seacoast bluffs and foothills from Santa Barbara County to Baja California. Both its foliage character and its flowering habit make it highly ornamental for use in Inland Empire gardens in combination with other California native shrubs and perennials. It is well adapted to slopes and banks, in containers and in wildlife plantings. One cultivar, E. c. ‘El Dorado’, is a robust plant that develops larger flowers, 3-4 in. in dia. with broad overlapping petals.
