Plant Image
Flower head


Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants

Chloracantha spinosa - spiny chloracantha

Synonyms: Aster spinosus, Chloracantha spinosa var. spinosa, Erigeron ortegae, Leucosyris spinosa
Other Common Names: spiny aster, Mexican devilweed, devilweed aster, aster
Plant Form: Forb or Subshrub

Family: Asteraceae


   
 
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Plants
Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)
Forb Plant Description

Origin: Native   Life Cycle: Perennial
General Desc: Perennial herb to sub-shrub, stoutly rhizomatous and forming colonies; usually thorny at the base but often thornless above; stems green, erect; lateral branches sharply ascending, wand-like.
Identification notes: Ray and disc flowers. Stems form erect, much-branched, almost leafless, pale green, broom-like clumps, deep seated rhizomes, 1 to 9 feet tall. Basal leaves long and narrow to spatula shaped, to 2 inches long, upper leaves tiny and scale-like.
Height: 1 to 9 feet


Habitat

Habitat Description: Found in moist, saline soil, on riverbanks, bottomlands, saline flats, ditches, and irrigation channels.
Plant Communities: Riparian, Disturbed Areas
Elevation: 1000 - 4200 feet


Flower Characteristics

Color: White and yellow     Shape: Daisy or dandelion-like not in clusters     Tubular: N     Flowering Period: May - Oct
Description: Flowers are loosely branched, mature from bottom up; ray flowers 20 to 33, white, and 1/4 inch; disc flowers 20 to 70, corollas yellow; whorl of bracts wrapped around the flower head, 1/4 inch high, lance-shaped, with thin, transparent margins.


Leaf and Stem Characteristics

Leaf Color: Pale green     Leaf Type: Simple     Leaf Shape: Narrow     Leaf Margin: Smooth     Leaf Attachment: Alternate     Leaves Clasp: Y
Hairs: No     Spines: N
Leaf Description: Leaves attached directly to stem without a supporting stalk, early withering before flowering, 1 prominent vein, inverted lance-shaped with narrow end at attachment, up to 2 inches long, margins smooth or rarely have 1 to 2 pairs of small teeth.


Fruit and Seed Characteristics

Fruit Color: White to tan   
Fruit Type: Achene
Fruit Notes: Small, dry fruit is smooth, hairless, 1/4 inch long, spindle to cylinder-shaped, slightly compressed, and 5-veined, topped with 30 to 60 persistent, white to tan sepals of short, stiff bristles usually in 1 to 2 series, plus shorter outer bristles.


  Arizona Cooperative Extension
Yavapai County
840 Rodeo Dr #C
Prescott, AZ 86305
(928) 445-6590
Version 8.0  
http://cales.arizona.edu/yavapaiplants/SpeciesDetailForb.php  
Last Updated: Dec 13, 2022
Content Questions/Comments: Email Matt Halldorson  
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