Coreopsis gigantea is a woody perennial plant

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...

 native to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and Baja California

Baja California

Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...

. The stem is a trunk 1-2 m tall, 4-10 cm diameter. Bright green leaves and flowers are on the top of the trunk, the rest of the trunk is bare. The flowers are yellow, daisy-like, 6-20 cm. It is summer deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...

, leaving a bare trunk in summer.

Distribution

It is distributed on the South California central coast, north and central Southern California

Southern California

Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

 coast, the California Channel Islands, and further south on Guadalupe Island

Guadalupe Island

Guadalupe Island, or Isla Guadalupe is a volcanic island located 241 kilometers off the west coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and some 400 kilometers southwest of the city of Ensenada in Baja California state, in the Pacific Ocean...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. It is restricted to these frost-free areas because its stem is succulent. Storing water in this way makes the plants tolerant to drought but especially susceptible to frost.

Cultivation

The plant is very drought tolerant. It needs good drainage, is not tolerant of excess water, and should receive minimal water during summer.

Further reading

• Sullivan, R. & J. Eaton. Coreopsis is supersize on the Channel Islands. San Francisco Chronicle. October 8, 2008.