About Diaperia prolifera (Nutt. ex DC.) Nutt.
Diaperia prolifera, common name big-head rabbit-tobacco, is a plant species native to the central United States, ranging from Montana to New Mexico to Alabama. It grows best in dry, open areas. It is an annual herb that reaches up to 15 cm (6 inches) in height. Its foliage is grayish green to silvery in color, due to a thick covering of woolly plant hairs called pubescence. Its stems branch above ground, and its leaves grow up to 15 mm long. Flower heads are typically borne one at a time, though they occasionally occur in groups of 2 to 3. Two varieties of Diaperia prolifera are generally recognized, which intergrade in their overlapping range across Texas and Oklahoma. Diaperia prolifera var. prolifera is grayish to green, and is found in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Diaperia prolifera var. barnebyi Morefield is silvery white, and is found in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
