Flower profile

Curlycup gumweed

Grindelia squarrosa

Curlycup gumweed (Grindelia squarrosa) is a flowering plant in the Asteraceae family, native in the lower 48 states, blooming mostly July–September across the U.S.

Native in the lower 48

Curlycup gumweed is a wildflower that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. It's on our flower lists for 7 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in July–September.

40states where USDA records it

7Bloomipedia state lists include it

7,852U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming

Quick look

Grindelia squarrosa, also known as a curly-top gumweed or curlycup gumweed, is a small North American biennial or short-lived perennial plant.
From Wikipedia's article Grindelia squarrosa, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Asteraceae family. ^iNaturalist
USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) with a annual, biennial, perennial life cycle. ^{USDA PLANTS}
USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 40 states. ^{USDA PLANTS}
In Utah, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in July–October. ^iNaturalist
In Idaho, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in July–October. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 2,133 research-grade sightings of it in Utah, ranking #9 among the 153 flowers on our Utah list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 904 research-grade sightings of it in Idaho, ranking #26 among the 143 flowers on our Idaho list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 624 research-grade sightings of it in South Dakota, ranking #13 among the 126 flowers on our South Dakota list. ^iNaturalist

When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (1,219 records)

Bloom time in the 7 states whose Bloomipedia list includes it

State	Type	Peak bloom	Sightings*
Utah	Native	July–October	2,133
Idaho	Native	July–October	904
South Dakota	Native	few records (43)	624
Montana	Native	August–September	484
Wyoming	Native	July–September	381
North Dakota	Native	few records (41)	316
Nebraska	Native	few records (25)	275

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe global: G5 Secure worldwide. ^NatureServe
Utah: No list Utah has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Utah ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Utah.
Idaho: No list Idaho has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Idaho ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Idaho.
South Dakota: No list South Dakota's endangered and threatened list (ARSD 41:10:02) covers animals only, so we show NatureServe's South Dakota ranks for plants. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in South Dakota.
Montana: No list Montana has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Montana ranks instead. NatureServe: S5, secure in Montana.
Wyoming: No list Wyoming has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Wyoming ranks instead. NatureServe: S5, secure in Wyoming.
North Dakota: No list North Dakota has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's North Dakota ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in North Dakota.
Nebraska: Not listed Not on Nebraska threatened and endangered species (163 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 4, § 004). NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Nebraska. ^{163 NAC 4-004}
Rare elsewhere: No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records curlycup gumweed in 40 states.

AKMEVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILWIMINYRIMAORNVWYSDIAINOHPANJCTCAUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFL

recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

Utah counties with USDA records: Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Daggett, Davis, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Wayne, Weber.

Idaho counties with USDA records: Ada, Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, Blaine, Boise, Bonneville, Canyon, Caribou, Cassia, Clark, Clearwater, Custer, Elmore, Franklin, Fremont, Gem, Gooding, Idaho, Jefferson, Kootenai, Latah, Lemhi, Lincoln, Madison, Nez Perce, Oneida, Owyhee, Power, Washington.

South Dakota counties with USDA records: Aurora, Beadle, Bon Homme, Brookings, Brown, Brule, Butte, Charles Mix, Codington, Corson, Custer, Davison, Day, Douglas, Fall River, Faulk, Gregory, Hand, Harding, Hutchinson, Hyde, Jackson, Jerauld, Jones, Kingsbury, Lake, Lawrence, Lincoln, Lyman, Marshall, McPherson, Mellette, Minnehaha, Pennington, Perkins, Potter, Roberts, Spink, Stanley, Todd, Tripp, Union, Ziebach.

Names, range and relatives

Native status by region (USDA PLANTS): Canada: Native; Lower 48 states: Native.

County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 675 counties across 35 states; the most are in Kansas (59), Montana (51), North Dakota (50).

Other Grindelia on Bloomipedia (1): Spanish gold.

More from the Asteraceae family (212 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): Common yarrow, Goldenrods, White snakeroot, Sunflowers, Chicory, Black-eyed Susan, Bull thistle, Common dandelion.

More Utah flowers

Rubber rabbitbrush

Ericameria nauseosa

Native

🌼 Blooms in UT: September–November

Arrowleaf balsamroot

Balsamorhiza sagittata

Native

🌼 Blooms in UT: March–June

Common yarrow

Achillea millefolium

Native

🌼 Blooms in UT: June–August

Sources

USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile GRSQ.
iNaturalist, Grindelia squarrosa: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Grindelia squarrosa (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Utah: Utah noxious weed list (Utah Admin. Code R68-9-3).
Idaho: Idaho noxious weeds (IDAPA 02.06.09, Section 220).
South Dakota: South Dakota statewide noxious weeds (ARSD 12:62:03:01.06).
Montana: Montana noxious weed list (Admin. R. Mont. 4.5.206–4.5.210).
Wyoming: Wyoming state designated noxious weeds (W.S. 11-5-102(a)(xi)), as listed by the Wyoming Weed & Pest Council.
North Dakota: North Dakota state noxious weeds (N.D. Admin. Code 7-06-01-02), as listed by the ND Department of Agriculture.
Nebraska: Nebraska threatened and endangered species (163 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 4, § 004).
Nebraska: Nebraska noxious weeds (25 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 10, § 001.02).
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
NatureServe Explorer, Grindelia squarrosa (global and state ranks).
Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
Photo: Zach Earl via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.