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Ericameria arborescens

(Gray) Greene

Golden Fleece

G4Apparently Secure Found in 19 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.137912
Element CodePDAST3L010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderAsterales
FamilyAsteraceae
GenusEricameria
Synonyms
Haplopappus arborescens(Gray) HallLinosyris arborescensA. Gray
Other Common Names
goldenfleece (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2025-02-19
Change Date1988-05-05
Edition Date2025-02-19
Edition AuthorsN. Ventrella (2025)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 - 300
Rank Reasons
Ericameria arborescens is a woody perennial shrub occurring in woodlands, open forests, and chaparral habitats of western North America from Oregon to California in the United States. There are an estimated 234 occurrences of this species, which are potentially threatened by succession, wildfire suppression, development, road maintenance, invasive species, and other threats in some places. Ericameria arborescens requires open habitat and is often found after fires or following disturbance.
Range Extent Comments
Ericameria arborescens occurs in western North America, from Oregon to California in the United States (FNA 2006). Range extent was estimated using herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data collected between 1994 and 2025 (RARECAT 2024, GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, NatureServe 2025, SEINet 2025).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1994 and 2025, it is estimated that there are 234 occurrences rangewide (RARECAT 2024, GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, NatureServe 2025, SEINet 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, Ericameria arborescens is potentially threatened by succession, wildfire suppression, development, road maintenance, invasive species, and other threats in some places. This species is frequently found after fire or other canopy-opening disturbances such as logging and requires early successional habitat (Jepson Flora Project 2025, NatureServe 2025).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Ericameria arborescens occurs in woodlands, open forests, and chaparral on dry foothill slopes, at elevations ranging from 90 to 2,000 meters (FNA 2006, Jepson Flora Project 2025).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandShrubland/chaparral
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN4
ProvinceRankNative
CaliforniaSNRYes
OregonS1Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
Unknown/undetermined———

—

Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (19)
California (18)
AreaForestAcres
AgnewSequoia National Forest9,561
Bear MountainLos Padres National Forest913
Black ButteLos Padres National Forest5,116
CamuesaLos Padres National Forest8,209
Chalk PeakLos Padres National Forest7,472
Devil GulchSierra National Forest30,490
Ferguson RidgeSierra National Forest6,104
Garcia MountainLos Padres National Forest7,850
JuncalLos Padres National Forest12,289
Kings RiverSierra National Forest52,999
Little French CShasta-Trinity National Forest11,529
Little PineLos Padres National Forest1,315
Machesna MountainLos Padres National Forest12,271
Malduce BuckhornLos Padres National Forest14,177
NordhoffLos Padres National Forest12,031
North MountainStanislaus National Forest7,856
PattisonShasta-Trinity National Forest29,299
RubiconEldorado National Forest4,872
Oregon (1)
AreaForestAcres
North KalmiopsisSiskiyou National Forests91,560
References (8)
  1. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2006b. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 20. Magnoliophyta: Asteridae, part 7: Asteraceae, part 2. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxii + 666 pp.
  2. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
  3. iNaturalist. 2025. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2025).
  4. Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2025. Jepson eFlora. Online. Available: https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/ (accessed 2025).
  5. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  6. NatureServe. 2025. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  7. NatureServe's Rapid Analysis of Rarity and Endangerment Conservation Assessment Tool (RARECAT). 2024. Version: 1.1.1 (released Oct 01, 2024).
  8. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2025. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2025).