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 Leaves Patrick Alexander @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:
Introduced
Life Cycle:
Annual
General Desc:
Annual herbs, stems erect, branched, with 1 or 2 gold-colored spines at each node; spines unbranced or 3-branched, 1/2 to 1-1/4 inches long or longer; flowers unisexual.
Identification notes: Stems erect, branched, with paired, gold, unbranched or 3-branched spines; leaf blades lance-like to oval to narrow, often shallowly lobed, upper surface shiny dark green, lower densely white or gray hairy; tiny, unisexual flower clusters, female above.
Height:
4 to 24 inches tall
Habitat Description: Found mostly near Prescott and the Verde Valley in Arizona, disturbed, seasonally wet, often alkaline (pH greater than 7.0) sites; especially grasslands, marshes and watercourses, margins of agriculture.
Plant Communities:
Semidesert Grasslands, Riparian, Disturbed Areas
Elevation: 3000 - 7000 feet
Color:
Greenish
Shape:
Regular in round clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Jul - Oct
Description:
Rounded clusters of male flowering heads, with 1 or 2 female heads near the tip; clusters terminal or in leaf axils. Male flowers have translucent petals, female flowers lack petals.
Leaf Color:
Dark green, grayish-white
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Narrow
Leaf Margin:
Lobed
Leaf Attachment:
Alternate
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
Y
Leaf Description:
Herbage mostly hairy; blades oval to lance-like or narrow, to 5 inches long, often 3 to 7 or more lobes, lower surfaces grayish-white, densely hairy, upper dark shiny green, short stalked, 1-1/2 to 3 inches long.
Fruit Color: Yellow to brown
Fruit Notes: Fruit is a broadly cylindric burr, about 1/16 inch long, yellow to brown, with slender spines.
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