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 Leaves and plant Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) |  Plant Gregory Gust @http://swbiodiversity.org. Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) | | | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Perennial Similar Species: Petradoria pumila var. graminea, P. pumila var. pumila, Solidago graminea
General Desc:
Clump-forming plant often with many erect stems and narrow, green, grass-like leaves. It typically retains the previous year's dead leaves which surround the base of the plant. The flower stalk is a dense flat-topped cluster of small yellow flower heads.
Identification notes: Perennial; 1 to 20 slender erect sometimes rough feeling stems; leaves basal and on stems, gland-dotted, leathery, narrow, upper not stalked and reduced in size; ray flowers 1 to 3, disc flowers 30 to 40, both yellow; achenes topped with barbed bristles.
Height:
To about 10 inches
Habitat Description: Found on dry, sandy, rocky soils in flat open areas, on slopes, mesas, in canyons, in upland desert scrub, more common in pine and juniper woodlands as well as along hiking trails, roads and meadows.
Plant Communities:
Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest, Disturbed Areas
Elevation: 4500 - 7500 feet
Color:
Yellow
Shape:
Daisy or dandelion-like in round clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Jun - Sep
Description:
Flower stalk has flat-topped compact clusters of yellow flower heads, each up to 1/8 inch wide. Vertical whorls of yellow to brownish leaf-like bracts with darker tips, each up to 1/4 inch long, are closely pressed into the stem beneath the flower head.
Leaf Color:
Green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Narrow
Leaf Margin:
Smooth
Leaf Attachment:
Basal and alternate
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
No
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Leaves are leathery, 3/4 to 4-3/4 inches long, 1/16 to 1/2 inch wide, dotted with tiny oil glands and often have 3 veins but may have 5. The leaves, leaf margins and stem surfaces are coarse. Basal leaves have short stalks, stem leaves are stalkless.
Fruit Type: Achene
Fruit Notes: Fruit is dry, 1-seeded, smooth, about 1/4 inch long with 6 to 9 veins. At its top are 30 to 60 tan minutely barbed hair-like bristles (pappi) each about 1/8 to 1/4 inch long. When mature, fruit does not split open to release the seed.
Seed Notes: The seed is smooth and has a hard outer shell. The surface of the seed is not attached to the wall of the fruit making it easier to disperse when mature. The numerous barbed bristles at the top of the fruit also aid in seed dispersal by wind or animals.
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