This is a native sunflower in my front yard, Encelia faranosa or Brittlebush. An indicator species of Coastal Sage Scrub and transitional to Creosote bush Scrub, this plant can turn the slopes golden when good rains produce an extravagant bloom. By June they are drying up and losing leaves becoming a cluster of bare stems easily broken, hence the common name Brittlebush.
Pretty. I didn't know there was a creosote bush. I remember as a teen painting wooden fence posts with creosote to prevent them from being eaten by insects.
