Common names:
Desert dandelion, smooth desert dandelion
Family:
Scientific name:
Malacothrix glabrata
Main flower color:
Range:
Nevada and adjoining states, across Arizona to southwest New Mexico
Height:
Between 6 and 14 inches
Habitat:
Dry washes, sandy plains; desert locations
Leaves:
Up to 5 inches long; pinnately divided into (3 to 6 pairs) of linear, string-like lobes
Season:
March to June
Like the common dandelion, flowers of malacothrix glabrata consist entirely of ray florets, numbering between 30 and 140 - usually yellow but occasionally white (a color more likely towards the outer edge of the flower), with flat tips that have four small notches, extending down to lengthwise grooves. One big difference between the two species is that leaves of the desert dandelion are finely divided, into long, thin, linear lobes.
The center of the flower is often reddish at the start of blooming, becoming yellow when fully mature. Florets mingle with numerous branched yellow stamens, which, like the petals, become shorter towards the middle. Underneath the flower are around 20 linear phyllaries, in 2 or 3 rows, of markedly different lengths. Phyllaries are green along the middle, white at the edges. Flowers are about 1.5 inches in diameter.
The center of the flower is often reddish at the start of blooming, becoming yellow when fully mature. Florets mingle with numerous branched yellow stamens, which, like the petals, become shorter towards the middle. Underneath the flower are around 20 linear phyllaries, in 2 or 3 rows, of markedly different lengths. Phyllaries are green along the middle, white at the edges. Flowers are about 1.5 inches in diameter.
All Contents © Copyright The American Southwest | Comments and Questions | Contribute | Site Map