About Lessingia leptoclada A.Gray
Lessingia leptoclada A.Gray is a species of flowering plant in the Asteraceae family, commonly known as sierra lessingia. This plant is endemic to the Sierra Nevada of California, where it grows in several different local habitat types. It is a slender erect annual herb that varies in height from just a few centimeters to nearly one meter tall, and it produces long, spreading branches. The plant is very glandular, and often has a hairy or woolly texture. Its upper leaves grow up to 5 centimeters (2.0 inches) long, are narrow, and may sometimes be toothed or lobed; lower leaves are longer and wither early in the plant's growth. Its flower heads grow either singly or in small clusters. Each flower head is lined with woolly phyllaries. The flower head is discoid, meaning it contains no ray florets, but instead holds many funnel-shaped disc florets. These disc florets can be pinkish, lavender, or light bluish-purple, and have large lobes. The plant produces fruit as an achene, topped with a whitish pappus made of bristles.
