Malacothrix floccifera

(de Candolle) S. F. Blake

Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 22: 656. 1924.

Common names: Woolly desertdandelion
Endemic
Basionym: Senecio flocciferus de Candolle in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 6: 426. 1838
Synonyms: Malacothrix obtusa Bentham Malacothrix parviflora Bentham
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 19. Treatment on page 314. Mentioned on page 312, 315.

Annuals, 10–40 cm. Stems 1–8, simple or branched proximally and/or distally, glabrous or proximally puberulent. Cauline leaves: proximal oblanceolate to obovate, usually pinnately lobed (lobes 4–6+ pairs, ± equal, apices obtuse), ± fleshy, ultimate margins dentate, abaxial faces usually white-arachnose (usually in patches on lobes); distal reduced (pinnately lobed or dentate proximally, lobes obtuse). Calyculi of 3–8+, ovate to lanceolate bractlets, hyaline margins 0.1–0.3 mm wide. Involucres campanulate, 5–7(–9) × 2.5–4(–5) mm. Phyllaries 13–21+ in 2–3 series, oblong or lanceolate to linear, hyaline margins 0.05–0.2 mm wide, faces glabrous. Receptacles bristly. Florets 21–60; corollas white or yellow (usually with abaxial lavender stripes), 7–15 mm; outer ligules exserted 5–9 mm. Cypselae ± cylindric to prismatic, 1.2–2 mm, ribs extending to apices, 5 more prominent than others; persistent pappi 0. Pollen 70–100% 3-porate. 2n = 14.


Phenology: Flowering Mar–Nov.
Habitat: Burns, slides, road cuts, open areas, usually in loose soil (serpentine, gypsum, or brown-clay) in chaparral, pinyon/juniper woodlands, yellow-pine forests
Elevation: 60–2000 m

Discussion

Malacothrix floccifera grows in the Transverse Ranges in Ventura County, in the Coast Ranges to Siskiyou County, on foothills and slopes of Sierra Nevada from Lassen County to Fresno County, and in western Nevada, near Lake Tahoe.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Malacothrix floccifera"
W. S. Davis +
(de Candolle) S. F. Blake +
Senecio flocciferus +
Woolly desertdandelion +
Calif. +  and Nev. +
60–2000 m +
Burns, slides, road cuts, open areas, usually in loose soil (serpentine, gypsum, or brown-clay) in chaparral, pinyon/juniper woodlands, yellow-pine forests +
Flowering Mar–Nov. +
Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. +
Malacothrix obtusa +  and Malacothrix parviflora +
Malacothrix floccifera +
Malacothrix +
species +