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 Leaves Anthony Mendoza @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Free use allowed for nonprofit research or educational purposes |  Plant Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) | | | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Annual
General Desc:
Annual with well-developed, slender taproot, usually stemless, up to 12 inches tall; herbage densely hairy with loose woolly, silky silvery-white hairs; leaves basal and narrow; whitish flowers on terminal, spiral spikes; self-fertile, pollinated by wind.
Identification notes: Annual with perfect flowers, pollinated by wind, self-fertile; herbage hairs dense and silky; leaves basal, narrow, margins smooth to a few teeth; floral bracts <1/8 inch long and broadly oval-like; flower stalks have 1 terminal spike of whitish flowers.
Height:
Up to 12 inches
Habitat Description: Widespread in sandy or gravelly deserts and steppes, dry plains and mesas.
Plant Communities:
Desert Scrub,
Elevation: Below 3200 feet
Color:
Whitish
Shape:
Regular in elongated clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Jan - May
Description:
Stalk 1 to 12 inches long; soft, shaggy hairs spreading at right angles; spikes at maturity 1/4 to 1-1/2 inches long; bracts broadly oval-like; midvein densely hairy; petals spread or point downward, broadly oval, 1/16 inch long, membranous-papery, brown.
Leaf Color:
Green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Narrow
Leaf Margin:
Smooth
Leaf Attachment:
Basal
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Usually no distinct leaf stalk, blades narrow, 1 to 6 inches long, <1/2 inch wide, tapered at base, pointed at tip, sparsely to densely hairy, obscurely 3-veined, margins smooth to a few teeth.
Fruit Color: Reddish-brown to black
Fruit Type: Capsule
Fruit Notes: Capsule breaking at or slightly below middle.
Seed Notes: 2 seeds, ellipsoid, 1/16 inch long, 1/16 inch wide, reddish-brown to black, the inner surface deeply concave, the outer surface shiny.
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