About Melampodium leucanthum Torr. & A.Gray
Melampodium leucanthum Torr. & A.Gray grows 15–50 centimetres (6–19+1⁄2 inches) tall, and spreads 30–61 cm (1–2 feet) wide. Its leaves are roughly 2–5 cm (1–2 inches) long and covered in hairs. It blooms from March to November. It produces composite flowerheads; each flowerhead has up to 50 individual yellow disk flowers at its center, surrounded by 8 to 13 white ray petals with a distinct notch at the outer end. This plant is short-lived and dies back each winter, but it self-seeds readily, so new plants regrow from dropped seeds the following season. It grows best on rocky slopes that contain limestone, and is naturally distributed across southwest Kansas, southeast Colorado, Oklahoma, the high plains, mesas, and the desert slopes of the Sonoran Desert. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant for rocky gardens, valued for its drought tolerance and showy flowers. In cultivation, it can grow up to 1.2 m (4 ft) tall.
