Common name:
Stemless Townsend daisy
Family:
Scientific name:
Townsendia exscapa
Main flower color:
Range:
From south Nevada, east towards Texas, and scattered locations in the northern Rocky Mountain states
Height:
One inch
Habitat:
Pine woodland, gravelly slopes, meadows, 5,000 to 7,500 feet
Leaves:
Linear, narrowly oblanceolate or spatulate, up to 2.5 inches long
Season:
March to July
One distinguishing feature of townsendia exscapa is the apparent lack of stem; the large white, yellow-centered flowerheads are in fact borne on a very short stem, at most one inch high, surrounded by the leaves, which are usually spatulate in shape and have a covering of white hairs, lying flat against the surface. Leaves are usually much longer than the ray florets, in the range 1 to 2 inches. Plants may produce just one stem, surrounded by a neat rosette of leaves, or several, forming small clumps, with overlapping leaves.
The involucre at the base of the flowerhead is ringed by 4 to 6 or more rows of phyllaries, which are all of a similar length, and often reddish along the margins. The 11 to 40 white ray florets may also have a pinkish tinge at the edges. Rays are slightly less than half an inch long. The yellow disc florets are numerous, from 100 to 150 or more.
The involucre at the base of the flowerhead is ringed by 4 to 6 or more rows of phyllaries, which are all of a similar length, and often reddish along the margins. The 11 to 40 white ray florets may also have a pinkish tinge at the edges. Rays are slightly less than half an inch long. The yellow disc florets are numerous, from 100 to 150 or more.
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