Plant Image
Flower
Willow Lake Tr - Sue Smith


Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants

Machaeranthera gracilis - slender goldenweed

Synonyms: Aplopappus or Haplopappus gracilis, Xanthisma gracile and more see SEINET.
Other Common Names: yellow spiny daisy, yellow daisy
Plant Form: Forb or Subshrub

Family: Asteraceae


   
 
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Flower
Willow Lake Tr
Sue Smith
Flower bracts
Willow Lake Tr
Sue Smith
Leaf
Willow Lake Tr
Sue Smith
Plant - summer
Willow Lake Tr
Sue Smith
Young plant - spring
Willow Lake Tr
Sue Smith
Plant - summer
Willow Lake Tr
Sue Smith
Forb Plant Description

Origin: Native   Life Cycle: Annual
General Desc: Covers large areas, 1 or 2 acres, with its bright yellow flowers. Often branched at base or throughout, moderately stout to stout, not wiry, moderately hairy.
Identification notes: Taprooted annual, bristly stems freely branching. Leaves hairy, once or twice divided. Stem leaves stalkless, appressed. Flowers yellow and radiate at branch tips; hairy, straw-colored at the bases. Flower head bracts in series of 5 to 6, bristle tipped.
Height: 4 to 16 inches


Habitat

Habitat Description: Dry sites, including rocky to sandy washes, slopes, and roadsides.
Plant Communities: Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest, Disturbed Areas
Elevation: 3000 - 7200 feet


Flower Characteristics

Color: Yellow     Shape: Daisy or dandelion-like not in clusters     Tubular: N     Flowering Period: Mar - Nov
Description: Yellow ray and disc flowers. Approximately 20 to 30 ray flowers, to 1-1/4 inches wide. Terminal on upper branches. Multiple rows of bracts on the flower heads, outer much shorter than the inner, all with straw colored bases and dark green spots at tips.


Leaf and Stem Characteristics

Leaf Color: Grayish-green     Leaf Type: Simple     Leaf Shape: Pinnatifid     Leaf Margin: Toothed     Leaf Attachment: Alternate     Leaves Clasp: N
Hairs: Leaves and stems     Spines: Y
Leaf Description: Angled upward with spiny bristle at tip of each tooth. Lowest leaves have a few lobes. To 3/4 inch long and 1/4 inch wide.


Fruit and Seed Characteristics

Fruit Color: White to reddish-brown   
Fruit Type: Achene
Fruit Notes: Achenes are slender, slightly wider at bases and covered with dense short hairs, topped with bristles. There are numerous slender, pale unequal bristles at tip.


  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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