About Chaenactis macrantha D.C.Eaton
Chaenactis macrantha D.C.Eaton is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family, known by the common names bighead dustymaiden and Mojave pincushion. It is native to the Great Basin and the southwestern deserts of the United States, where it occurs in California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, southwestern Idaho, and southeastern Oregon. This plant grows in dry, open habitats featuring gravelly, sandy soils that are often calcareous or alkaline. It is an annual herb that produces one or more branching stems reaching a maximum height of 30 to 35 centimeters, or 12 to 14 inches. Its leaves are a few centimeters long and divided into many lobes. The inflorescence holds one or more flower heads on long peduncles. Each flower head is lined with woolly phyllaries that have recurved tips. The head contains many white or pink-tinted flowers that open at night. It produces an achene fruit about one centimeter long when including the pappus.
