Lorandersonia pulchella

Illustrator: John Myers

Copyright: Flora of North America Association

Shrubs, 80–120 cm. Stems single, greenish when young, becoming whitish to gray, fastigiately branched distal to middle (angled from leaf bases), glabrous. Leaves ascending to appressed; blades linear or linear-oblong, 10–40 × 1–2.5 mm, planar or adaxially concave, margins eciliate, midveins evident, apices acute to acuminate, faces glabrous. Heads in cymiform to corymbiform arrays 0.5–14 cm wide, sometimes borne singly. Involucres obconic to cylindric, 10–12 × 4–6 mm. Phyllaries 24–30 in 4–5 series, in 5 vertical ranks, mostly tan, green subapical patch shiny, midnerves evident in distal 1/2, keeled, ovate to oblong or lanceolate, 1.3–9 × 0.7–2 mm, unequal, mostly chartaceous, margins narrowly scarious, entire apices acute to attenuate or acuminate, faces glabrous. Receptacles with 0–2 scales ca. 0.5 mm. Ray florets 0. Disc florets 5; corollas 9–12 mm, glabrous, lobes 1–1.5 mm; style branches 4.5–6 mm, appendages attenuate, 1.7–2.5 mm. Cypselae brownish, turbinate, sharply 4-angled, 4.5–6.3 mm, 5–8 ribbed, faces glabrous or sparsely hairy; pappi yellowish tan (± flattened, barbellate), 9–11 mm. 2n = 18.

Phenology: Flowering late summer–fall.
Habitat: Dry hills and plains, often sandy sites
Elevation: 1500–2000 m

Distribution

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N.Mex., Tex., Mexico (Chihuahua).

Discussion

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.