Entire-leaved Gumweed, Grindelia integrifolia, a perennial member of the Asteraceae family, blooms throughout the summer and fall on the north Olympic Peninsula. It occurs in the US all along the Washington and Oregon coast near beaches and in nearby sandy soil. Entire-leaved Gumweed has bright yellow aster-shaped flowers atop spiky bracts. Before blooming, the flower buds are covered in white, sticky latex, the “gum” of gumweed. A single plant often bears both buds and flowers.

Entire-leaved Gumweed gets its name from the usually smooth-edged (“entire”) leaves though some individual plants have toothed leaves, and in general, the species is quite variable. The scientific name honors Russian botanist David Grindel (1776-1836).

Entire-leaved Gumweed flower stalks die and dry out in the winter, but in the Port Angeles, WA area, Entire-leaved Gumweed grows along the city waterfront and on Ediz Hook, where it remains in leaf year-round, and where even an occasional flower remains in midwinter. In Sequim, it’s plentiful in the Dungeness Wildlife Reserve.

The flowers attract many insects, including bees and wasps, bee and wasp-mimic flies, and butterflies and moths (examples: slides 13-17).

Some Pacific Northwest Native American tribes used the resin from gumweed as a glue.