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Pictured: Grindelia nana — the species. This variety isn’t separately illustrated.
Asteraceae family

Idaho Gumweed (var. nana) Grindelia nana var. nana variety

Native Specialist-bee host

Idaho Gumweed (var. nana) is a perennial wildflower native to the lower 48 states. A host for pollen-specialist native bees.

More about this plant

Grindelia nana is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names Idaho gumplant and Idaho gumweed. It is native to western North America, especially the western United States, where it can be found in a number of dry habitats. This is a weedlike perennial herb growing mainly erect to heights between 20 centimeters and one meter. Its stems and foliage are mostly green with some reddish coloration. Leaves are up to 9 centimeters long. The tops of the stem branches bear flower heads one or two centimeters wide, which are bell-shaped with rounded bases. The head is a cup of green clawlike, curling or erect phyllaries. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 6 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Herb layer — Sits in the herb of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~2 caterpillar species

Grindelia supports ~2 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a modest genus.

Recorded feeding on Grindelia in North America, including:

Argyrotaenia franciscana · Orange Tortrix Carmenta texana · Texana Clearwing Moth Chlosyne lacinia · Bordered Patch Cremastobombycia grindeliella · leaf-blotch miner moth Cucullia montanae · Mountain Hooded Owlet Heliothis phloxiphaga · Darker-Spotted Straw Moth
+ 8 more species →
Homoeosoma electella · Sunflower Moth Mamestra configurata · Bertha Armyworm Oidaematophorus occidentalis · plume moth Phaneta amphorana · leafroller moth Phaneta grindeliana · leafroller moth Phaneta stramineana · leafroller moth Platyptilia williamsii · plume moth Schinia mortua · owlet moth
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
✦ Bees specialist-bee host

Specialist native bees depend on it.

Some native bees are pollen specialists (oligolectic) — they raise young only on pollen from particular plant genera. Grindelia is a recorded specialist-bee host, so losing it can mean losing the bee that relies on it.

Xerces pollinator conservation →
Specialist hosts from Smith et al. 2024.
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (11) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[07] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts · Smith et al. 2024 (CC BY)
[08] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[09] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[10] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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