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 Leaves 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) | | | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Perennial
General Desc:
A woody root base, (rhizome) covered with thick brown short matted hair forms a platform for the stems; stems are short, 2 to 11-1/2 inches; leaves clasping, pale green, holly-like with spines; flowers bisexual, 15 to 24 per flower head.
Identification notes: Flower heads are solitary at the ends of branches, disc flowers only, bracts in series of 4 to 5 form a 3/4 inch long bell-shaped base below the fragrant 15 to 24 2-lipped, 1/2 inch long flowers. Flowers are 5-lobed. Stems up to 11-1/2 inches long.
Height:
2 to 11-1/2 inches
Habitat Description: Found on mesas, arid plains, steep slopes; soils are often gravelly or silty and composed of sandstone or limestone; frequently grows under shrubs. More common in desert scrub.
Plant Communities:
Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland
Elevation: Below 3500 feet
Color:
Pink, purple or white
Shape:
Daisy or dandelion-like not in clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Mar - Jun
Description:
Flower heads solitary at branch ends, stems up to 4 inches long; flower head bracts in 4 to 5 series form a 3/4 inch long bell-shaped base below 15 to 24 2-lipped disc flowers, 2 lobes on one side and 3 lobes on the other, lobes 1/2 inch long; fragrant.
Leaf Color:
Pale green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Round or oval
Leaf Margin:
Toothed
Leaf Attachment:
Opposite
Leaves Clasp:
Y
Hairs:
No
Spines:
Y
Leaf Description:
Stems are short, 2 to 11-1/2 inches tall; clasping leaves resemble a holly leaf, oval to round, toothed with spines, leathery, pale green, veins conspicuous on both sides.
Fruit Type: Achene
Fruit Notes: Fruit is dry, linear, 1/4 inch long, covered with fine short hairs, strongly ribbed, does not open when ripe; the top of the fruit (apex) has many 1/2 to 3/4 inch long silky, silvery white to tawny hairs (pappus).
Seed Notes: 1 seed per fruit, attached to the ovary wall at a single point.
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