|
|
 Leaves and flower head Gregory Gust @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) |  Plant Desert Botanical Gardens Herbarium Collection, Usage rights: Attribution-Non-Commercial(CC BY-NC) |  Plants Gregory Gust @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) | | | |
|
Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Annual Similar Species: Chaenactis stevioides
General Desc:
Grows in patches of sparsely leaved green stems branching close to the ground, turn reddish with age; basal leaves die early, stem leaves are often fleshy and cylindrical; at the stem tips are white to pink compact flower heads resemble a pincushion.
Identification notes: Flower heads white to pinkish, disc-flowered; bracts in 1 to 3 series, taper to slender points, <1/2 inch high; base of each disc flower has 4 small, equal bracts, nearly hairless in fruit. Leaf margins smooth or divided into a few very narrow lobes.
Height:
To almost 16 inches
Habitat Description: Dry plains, mesas, warm deserts, washes, hillsides, slopes and canyons; in sandy or gravelly soils; often growing through shrubs. Found in lower Mojave and northern Sonoran deserts.
Plant Communities:
Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral
Elevation: 1000 - 3500 feet
Color:
White to pink
Shape:
Daisy or dandelion-like in round clusters
Tubular:
Y
Flowering Period:
Apr - Jun
Description:
1 inch wide flower heads consist only of tiny tubular flowers (disc florets) with those around the edge larger than those in the center. After going to seed, each head looks like a small pincushion with many protruding seeds resembling tiny needles.
Leaf Color:
Green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Pinnatifid
Leaf Margin:
Lobed
Leaf Attachment:
Basal and alternate
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
No
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
The basal leaves are early-withering; the stem leaves range from about 3/4 inch to 4 inches long, often cylindrical, succulent-like and may be narrow with a smooth margin or lobed almost to the midrib with up to 5 pairs of thread-like lobes.
Fruit Type: Achene
Fruit Notes: The fruit is about 1/4 inch long with straight, stiff, sharp, flat hairs and a ribbed surface. It is topped with 1 to 5 (usually 4) scales, the longest being about 1/2 inch long extending above the top of the petals during flowering.
Seed Notes: Each fruit produces 1 black club-shaped seed ranging from 1/4 to 1/2 inch long.
|
|
