Plant Image
Flowers


Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants

Malacothrix stebbinsii - Stebbins' desertdandelion

Synonyms: Malacothrix clevelandii var. stebbinsii
Other Common Names: Stebbins' desert dandelion
Plant Form: Forb or Subshrub

Family: Asteraceae


   
 
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Leaves
Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)
Plant
University of Arizona Herbarium , Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial)
Bracts
Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)
Forb Plant Description

Origin: Native   Life Cycle: Annual
General Desc: Small flower heads; only ray flowers, no disc flowers; seeds topped with about 18 bristles and 1 awn; bristles detach easily, while the awn remains; when flowers bloom leaves are shriveled or gone.
Identification notes: Annual; slender smooth stems branching from base; leaves mostly basal, diminishing on stem, lined with narrow lobes; small flower heads branched and spreading; pale yellow or white ray flowers; 15-ribbed achenes (fruit) with tuft of long bristles.
Height: 1-1/2 feet


Habitat

Habitat Description: Found along streams, in cleared areas, burns, slides, chaparral, and creosote bush shrub.
Plant Communities: Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Riparian, Disturbed Areas
Elevation: 2500 - 4500 feet


Flower Characteristics

Color: Pale yellow, white     Shape: Daisy or dandelion-like in elongated clusters     Tubular: N     Flowering Period: Mar - Jun
Description: Flowers on branches of main stem with many small, fanned out heads; pale yellow or white ray flowers; outer rays 1/16 inch; bracts 1/4 inch high; 5 to 12 small bracts around sepals; hairless.


Leaf and Stem Characteristics

Leaf Color: Green     Leaf Type: Simple     Leaf Shape: Narrow     Leaf Margin: Lobed     Leaf Attachment: Alternate     Leaves Clasp: N
Hairs: No     Spines: N
Leaf Description: 1 to 5 slender stems; branching from the base; leafy, with milky sap; leaves mostly basal; to 4 inches long; upper leaves lance-shaped; pinnately lobed; lobes to 1/8 inch; margins rectangular; faces hairless; alternate.


Fruit and Seed Characteristics

Fruit Type: Achene
Fruit Notes: Oblong-linear, ribbed, crowned with a ring of minute teeth; about 1/16 inch; topped with soft bristles; 1 or 2 of them stiffer.


  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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