Hulsea vestita is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name pumice alpinegold.
It is native to eastern and southern California, where various subspecies grow in separate mountain ranges from the High Sierra to the Transverse Ranges and Peninsular Ranges, and Madrean Sky Islands in the Mojave Desert. One subspecies (Hulsea vestita ssp. inyoensis) also occurs in western Nevada.
There are at least six subspecies, including Hulsea vestita ssp. Callicarpha, Hulsea vestita ssp. Gabrielensis, Hulsea vestita ssp. Parryi, Hulsea vestita ssp. Pygmaea and Hulsea vestita ssp. Vestita.
Hulsea vestita ssp. Gabrielensis is the subspecies found at levels mostly above 3,000 feet in elevation on Mt. San Antonio, also known as Mt. Baldy, in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains.
Hulsea vestita is known by the common names pumice alpinegold and pumice hulsea. It is a perennial herb growing a basal patch of thick leaves and stems up to 40 inches tall, but generally much shorter. The woolly, spoon-shaped leaves are gray-green and may have ruffled edges. The thick flower heads have glandular, hairy green phyllaries. The center of the daisylike head contains many long golden disc florets and a fringe of golden to reddish ray florets up to 0.8 inches long.
Hulsea vestita is a dicot, and can generally be found on the talus of mountain slopes, often in soils of volcanic origin, as well as among sagebrush scrub, and within yellow pine forests, red fir forests, subalpine forests, and alpine fell-fields.
Native to the Western United States and primarily California, it is a rare plant which occurs at elevations between 2,720 feet and 9,367 feet. It is unlikely to survive on less than 6.6 inches of rain per year and will thrive under conditions in which it receives up to 42 inches of precipitation yearly. If during summer months it does not receive rain, it will wither severely. It does best if it can get between
0.40 inch and 2.37 inch rain in the three month span of summer.
It will do well if the coldest average monthly temperature it experiences does not fall below 36.4° Fahrenheit. It is not likely to sustain itself if subjected to a temperature below 14 degrees for any length of time.
In the summer, it does best if the hottest average temperature does not exceed 77.4° F. Prolonged exposure to a temperature in excess of 90 degrees is not good for these plants.
The blooming period for the Hulsea vestita is between May and October.