Scientific Family
Asteraceae
Other common names
wild marigold
paper daisy
desert baileya
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual or perennial
Similar species
Baileya pleniradiata
Height
4 to 16 inches
Riparian
No
Well developed taproot; herbage densely white woolly, mostly basal leaves with flowers extending 4 to 16 inches or more above the basal leaves. May be a biennial based on elevation and rainfall.
Annual or short lived perennial; leaves densely white and wooly, form basal rosettes and are found on the lower half of the stem; stem leaves are alternate and sessile; flowers showy, solitary on stems that are 4 to 16 inches, ray and disc flowers yellow.
Habitat
Arroyo bottoms, outwash slopes, sandy plains and roadsides; prefers sandy, gravelly areas.
Plant Community
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Disturbed Areas
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
2000
High elevation
5000
Flower Characteristics
Daisy-like, lemon yellow, 2 inches wide, multiple layers of overlapping ray flowers with tooth-like edges, surrounding as many as 100 yellow disc flowers.
Flower color
Yellow
Flower shape
Daisy or dandelion-like
Tubular
No
First bloom month
March
Last bloom month
November
Flower clusters
None
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Rosette of lobed and stemmed leaves. Leaves on the flower stems small, sessile and lobed. All leaves are white-woolly.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Grayish-green
Leaf shape
Pinnatifid
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Short-cylindric, 1/8 to 1/4 inch long, evenly striate, without pappus.
Fruit type
Achene