Tarweed

Coastal tarweed (Hemizonia corymbosa) features small yellow flowers and a turpentine smell that gives the plant its name. With deep roots and small leaves, tarweeds can tap moisture held deep in the heavy soils, allowing these summer-flowering plants to grow long after the last rains have fallen. By flowering late in the season they are essential for pollinators like native bees. Tarweed seeds were also a staple of many Native American tribes, who collected and ground them into pinole or meal.