Bahia, hairyseed bahia

Bahia absinthifolia

bahia blooming at Academy Village

About the Plant

Bahia is a long-blooming, low-growing perennial with yellow flowers. This native grows to about a foot and spreads just as wide.

Plants growing close to each other can form a pleasant groundcover. Yellow flowers appear in spring and fall, irrigation can extend the bloom season.

Bahia survives without help and on natural rainfall in the wild. In a cultivated situation, cut back dead stems at the end of the season and irrigation occasionally to encourage flowering. New plants volunteer readily.

Notes: bahia and desert marigold may look similar at first glance. This Weekly Plant shows how to tell the two plants apart.

Wildlife value: goldfinches will eat the seeds and butterflies will sip nectar from the flowers.

More Information

Weekly Plant on desert marigold and bahia

Map of distribution in US

Technical botanical description from SEINet

In books:

Native Plants for Southwestern Landscapes by Judy Mielke, page 87

ID Characteristics

 This plant is in the Asteraceae - the aster family.
Bahia is a low-growing plant, reaching about 1 foot high and slightly wider. The stems branch as they grows, spreading out over the ground.
The leaves are opposite (though some distal leaves near the flowers may be alternate), about 2 inches long. There is one central lobe and usually lobes on each side. The leaves are hairy and gray-green in color.
The flower heads are about 1 inch across, with yellow ray flowers and slightly darker yellow disc flowers. The rays have 3 small lobes on the end.
bahia blooming at Academy Village
The flower heads are terminal. New stems arise at the base of a leaf and also end in a flower. In the photo, the oldest flowers are at top, to the left, and newer flowers, still in bud, are lower and to the right. To deadhead this plant, remove the faded flower at the base of its flower stalk, not all the way to the base of the plant. This will preserve the side stems and increase flowering.