Common names:
Odora, slender poreleaf
Family:
Scientific name:
Porophyllum gracile
Main flower color:
Range:
Southern Nevada and southern California, east to New Mexico and far west Texas
Height:
Up to 2 feet
Habitat:
Rocky, gravelly and sandy locations in desert areas; up to 6,500 feet
Leaves:
Opposite, linear, thread-like, hairless, entire, up to 2 inches long
Season:
September to June
Porophyllum gracile is a thin-branched, shrub-like plant of desert areas, exuding a strong odor, originating from oil glands along its leaves, stems and phyllaries. Stems and leaves are hairless, grey-green in color. The inflorescence is an open cluster, the flowerheads attached by relatively long, slender stalks. Plants bloom most of the year, most strongly in early summer and autumn.
The rayless flowerheads have a narrow, cylindrical involucre lined by five grey-green phyllaries, bearing elongated purplish glands either side of the midvein. Disc florets, usually numbering 12 to 30 (sometimes fewer), have whitish to pale yellow, five-lobed corollas with purple stamens and pistil.
The rayless flowerheads have a narrow, cylindrical involucre lined by five grey-green phyllaries, bearing elongated purplish glands either side of the midvein. Disc florets, usually numbering 12 to 30 (sometimes fewer), have whitish to pale yellow, five-lobed corollas with purple stamens and pistil.
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