Stebbins' desertdandelion
Malacothrix stebbinsii W.S.Davis & P.H.Raven
Malacothrix stebbinsii is a species in the Asteraceae family, native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It is an annual herb with a hairless stem up to 60 cm tall, bearing narrow-lobed leaves. The plant produces flower heads with white to light yellow ray florets, each under a centimeter long.
Description
Malacothrix stebbinsii is an annual plant reaching 5-60 cm in height. It has 1-5 stems, mostly erect, sparsely leafy, and glabrous. The leaves are obovate and pinnately lobed, with 3-5+ pairs of triangular to linear lobes. The involucres are campanulate, 7-10 mm in length, with 16-20 phyllaries in 2-3 series. The florets number 19-70, with yellow or white corollas 6-7 mm long. The cypselae are 1.7-2.3 mm long, with persistent pappi of 8-15 needlelike teeth. The species is distributed in the Sonoran Desert region, including Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and parts of Mexico. It was first described in 1962 by W.S. Davis and P.H. Raven.
Other common names
Stebbins' desertdandelion
Distribution
Sonora · New Mexico · Arizona · California · Nevada · Mexico Northwest · Oregon
Synonyms
Malacothrix clevelandii var. stebbinsii
