Annuals with stems up to 16 inches long; branching along the ground or with tips growing upward; sparsely hairy; leaf blades palmate with 3 to 5 rounded lobes (like the fingers on a hand); 1 to 4 flowers in leaf axils.
Trailing, low-growing, stems sometimes flushed purple-maroon; leaves, stems slightly hairy; leaves 3 to 5 lobed; petals white, light purple or pink, not spotted, equal the sepals in length; flowers have male and female parts, subtended by leafy bracts.
Habitat
Found in desert habitats, rocky, sandy soil, roadsides and fields.
Flower Characteristics
Small flowers, seldom exceeding leaves; 1 to 4 in leaf axils, scattered on stem, occasionally near stem base; flowers with leafy subtending bractlets 1/8 to 1/4 inch long; sepals somewhat united at the base; 12 to 15 styles.
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Stems sometimes flushed with purple-maroon; leaves palmately cleft with 3 to 5 rounded lobes (like the fingers on a hand); generally >3/4 inch wide; lobe tips smooth or 3-toothed;Â slightly hairy.
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Disc-shaped fruits (schizocarps), 1/4 inch, 9 to 13 mericarps (segments); wedge-shaped in cross-section, with rounded margins; surfaces blackish and prominently wrinkled, outer walls cross-ridged; fruit splits at maturity into several 1-seeded carpels.
Seeds solitary.