Tall spikes of Coast tarweed thrive in the gravel along the road at the top of Bernal Hill. Flowering late in the summer, it’s an important option for pollinators. It’s most obvious characteristic is its strongly-scented sticky resin. You can’t touch it without getting covered in stickiness. Tarweed usually grows 3 feet tall or less. 4 moths and butterflies use tarweed as it’s larval food including the Dark-spotted Straw Moth (Heliothodes diminutive) caterpillar.
