Cotula coronopifolia (brassbuttons)

Cotula coronopifolia

Photo courtesy Joseph DiTomaso

Cotula coronopifolia (brassbuttons) is a perennial herb (family Asteraceae) found along the coast of California, in the Central Valley and the South Coast Ranges. Brassbuttons prefers moist habitat, including salt and freshwater marshes, wetlands, and vernal pools. It most commonly invades disturbed sites, but can spread into undisturbed sites as well. This South African native has flat yellow flower heads that produce small seeds, which are distributed by moving water and birds. Its stems grow roots at the nodes, allowing the plant to reproduce vegetatively. Although brassbuttons is known to be invasive, its spread appears to be relatively slow.

Cal-IPC Inventory rating: Limited

Cal-IPC Resources on Cotula coronopifolia

• California Invasive Plant Inventory Assessment Form (pdf) - Information gathered by Cal-IPC on the impacts, rate of spread, and distribution of invasive plants in California. Does not include management information.
• Cal-IPC News - Articles from our quarterly newsletter. Each issue is available as a pdf. (None for this species.)
• Cal-IPC Symposium Proceedings - Presentations and papers from our annual Symposium.(None for this species.)

Cal-IPC News Articles

• None for this species.

Cal-IPC Symposium Proceedings

• None for this species.

Other Resources on Cotula coronopifolia

• USDA PLANTS database - Federal database with information on identification and distribution, and links to websites in individual states.
• Jepson Online Interchange for California Flora - Information on taxonomy, biology, and distribution from the UC Berkeley Jepson Herbarium.
• CalFlora - Distribution information by county based on submitted observations and herbarium specimens.
• CalPhotos - Images of plants taken mostly in California.

Printer-friendly version