Plant Image
Flower heads


Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants

Xylorhiza tortifolia - Mojave woodyaster

Synonyms: Aster abatus, Aster mohavensis, Aster orcuttii, Machaeranthera orcuttii
Other Common Names: Mojave woody-aster, Mohave aster, Mojave aster
Plant Form: Forb or Subshrub

Family: Asteraceae


   
 
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Leaves
Gregory Gust @http://swbiodiversity.org. Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial)
Plant
Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)
Forb Plant Description

Origin: Native   Life Cycle: Perennial   Similar Species: Xylorhiza wrightii
General Desc: Subshrubs, much-branched thickened, woody stems grow just above or below the ground; stems branched near the base and middle of the plant but not near stem tips; leaves and stems glandular and often hairy; flower heads white to pale purple and yellow.
Identification notes: Large, woody taproot; stems much branched from woody base; flower heads solitary, white, bluish to pale purple ray, disc flowers yellow, bracts (phyllaries) in several graduated series, tips erect or spreading; achenes large; spring flowering.
Height: 8 to 30 inches


Habitat

Habitat Description: Found on sandy or gravelly slopes and flats, often over clay, alkaline, barren areas, in creosote bush, sagebrush, shadscale, blackbrush, and juniper communities.
Plant Communities: Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Pinyon Juniper Woodland
Elevation: 2000 - 6000 feet


Flower Characteristics

Color: White to pale purple rays, yellow disc flowers     Shape: Need value not in clusters     Tubular: N     Flowering Period: Mar - May
Description: Flower heads solitary at the ends of nearly smooth, 10 inch glandular stems; ray flowers pale purple, disc yellow; phyllaries (ring of bracts around the flower head) 25 to 45, graduated in 3 to 6 series, narrowly lance-like.


Leaf and Stem Characteristics

Leaf Color: Grayish-green to green     Leaf Type: Simple     Leaf Shape: Narrow     Leaf Margin: Toothed     Leaf Attachment: Alternate     Leaves Clasp: Y
Hairs: Leaves and stems     Spines: Y
Leaf Description: Leaves alternate, not stalked, blades narrow to lance-like to reverse lance-like, to 4 inches long, often sub-clasping (almost wrap stem), margins with sharp spine-tipped teeth, faces glandular, sometimes also loosely hairy.


Fruit and Seed Characteristics

Fruit Type: Achene
Fruit Notes: Topped with a persistent tawny (light yellow brown), unequal-length barbed bristles (pappus).


  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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