Psathyrotes ramosissima (Torr.) A.Gray

Growth Habit

Psathyrotes ramosissima is a low, neatly mounded plant with spreading stems that range from hairless to densely woolly in texture. It grows up to 5 inches (12.5 centimetres) tall and gives off a turpentine odour.

Leaf Petioles and Blades

Its leaves grow on long petioles, with roundish, veined leaf blades reaching up to 3⁄4 inch (2 cm) long. Leaf blades have toothed edges and a velvety surface covered in woolly fibres and shiny hairs, and their colour ranges from brownish to grayish or pale green.

Inflorescence Structure

The species produces knobby inflorescences 1⁄4 inch (6 millimetres) wide, lined with woolly gray-green phyllaries that have dull, outward-curving points. Each inflorescence holds several hairy yellow disc florets.

Fruit Characteristics

The fruit is an achene tipped with a large pappus made up of over 100 long, fine bristles.

Native Range and Habitat

Psathyrotes ramosissima is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, where it grows in desert scrub habitat.