About Eatonella nivea (D.C.Eaton) A.Gray
Eatonella is a North American plant genus in the family Asteraceae that contains only one known species: Eatonella nivea, which has the common name white false tickhead. This small annual plant is native to the western United States, particularly the Great Basin, where it grows in sandy soils. It has been recorded in Grant and Kittitas Counties in Washington, as well as in Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and Modoc, Lassen, Mono, and Inyo Counties in eastern California. Eatonella nivea is a short annual plant that grows in a clump that is rarely more than 5 centimeters (2 inches) high, and not much wider than this height. Its tiny dark green leaves are no more than 30 mm (1.2 inches) long, densely packed together, and covered in thick grayish wool. The plant produces one flower head at a time; each head looks like a tiny pale yellow daisy less than a centimeter across, with up to 13 yellow or purple ray florets and up to 14 yellow disc florets. Its fruits are shiny black achenes with white fringe, each a few millimeters long. The genus was named for American botanist Daniel Cady Eaton, who lived from 1834 to 1895. A former member of the genus, Eatonella congdonii A.Gray, is now reclassified as Monolopia congdonii (A.Gray) B.G.Baldwin.
