|
|
 Basal leaves and flower heads Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) |  Plant Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) | | | | |
|
Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Annual Similar Species: Chaenactis fremontii
General Desc:
1 to 12 purplish stems that branch profusely; basal leaves wither early; green or grayish-green stem leaves are divided into short, fleshy, narrow segments. Flower stalks bear mostly white compact pincushion-like flower heads with enlarged outer florets.
Identification notes: Rounded white, pink or pale yellow flower heads, disc flowers 5, somewhat showy lobes, no ray flowers, outer flowers open wider, anthers protrude; flower head bracts hairy, pointed; basal leaves wither early; leaves lobed, often divided twice, fleshy.
Height:
To almost 14 inches
Habitat Description: Found in open dry sites like mesas or plains, often in sandy to gravelly soils on slopes, on flats, in washes and shrublands.
Plant Communities:
Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands
Elevation: 1000 - 6500 feet
Color:
White, at times pinkish, pale yellow
Shape:
Daisy or dandelion-like in elongated clusters
Tubular:
Y
Flowering Period:
Feb - Jun
Description:
The flower stalk bears 5 to 20 loose clusters of dense 3/4 inch wide flower heads. Each head is composed entirely of about 2 dozen tiny tubular flowers (disc flowers) which are star-shaped and noticeably larger around the margins than in the center.
Leaf Color:
Green or grayish-green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Pinnatifid
Leaf Margin:
Lobed
Leaf Attachment:
Basal and alternate
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Leaves are up to 2 inches long, fleshy, with soft, long, entangled hairs (woolly) and divided twice into 4 to 8 short, thick, very narrow segments. Stems have thin, cobwebby, silky hairs becoming smooth with age, usually purplish but can be blue-green.
Fruit Color: Brown to black
Fruit Type: Achene
Fruit Notes: Fruit is brown to black, 1/4 to 1/2 inch long with stiff, sharp, flat hairs. It is topped with 1 to 5 (often 4) scales of unequal lengths that are half or more as long as the fruit itself and don't extend above the tops of the petals during flowering.
Seed Notes: Each fruit produces 1 dry, dark brown seed ranging from 1/4 to 1/2 inch long.
|
|
