Bushy plant. Has a flower-like structure called a cyathium, a cup-like structure that houses a central pistillate flower surrounded by several staminate flowers. The yellow horned structures are not true petals but merely extensions of the cyathium.
Stems purplish, several, erect to ascending, sometimes woody or shrubby at the base, arising from a root crown; herbage hairless to slightly hairy; leaves elliptic, tapering at both ends; inflorescence glands irregularly toothed on margins, without horns.
Habitat
Rocky or sandy slopes; upper elevations, shady riparian areas; also found in desert transitions.
Flower Characteristics
Multiple tiny male flowers in bunches of 5, surrounded by 4 or 5 fringed, green to yellow, petal-like appendages with scalloped, crescent-shaped glands and a single green, drooping, stalked female flower with a 3-lobed ovary and 3 bilobed styles.
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Small, alternate, elliptical to oblong, 1/8 to 3/4 inch long, acute at both ends, margins smooth, stemless or nearly stemless.
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Oblong and lobed.
Oblong to rounded, gray to white, 1/4 inch long, surfaces veined to smooth.