Scientific Family
Asteraceae
Synonyms
Gutierrezia diversifolia, Gutierrezia lepidota, Gutierrezia linearifolia, Gutierrezia linearis, Gutierrezia linoides, Gutierrezia longipappa, See USDA
Other common names
turpentine weed
kindlingweed
snakeweed
broomweed
perennial snakeweed
stinkweed
yellow top
Plant type
Shrubs
Riparian
No
Plant Description
Origin
Native
Similar species
Gutierrezia microcephala
Relatively small multi-branched shrub with a rounded crown of fine twigs, topped with yellow flower heads in fall.
Perennial shrub with a woody base and numerous slender stems, resinous. Leaves linear, slender, smooth to slightly hairy. Flower heads yellow in flat-topped, rounded clusters, usually at tips of branchlets; bracts several times longer than wide.
Height
2 feet
Width
2 feet
Habitat
Habitat description
Found on plains and slopes in almost any habitat. Found in disturbed soils; abundance indicates land has been overgrazed.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Disturbed Areas
Low elevation
3000
High elevation
8000
Leaves
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf shape
Narrow
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaf hairs
Top and bottom of leaves
Spines
No
Leaf Drop
Evergreen
Leaves alternate along the stems; blades thread-like and narrow, sometimes in tufts of multiple leaves, dotted with resinous glands. Lower portions of the stems lack leaves at time of flowering.
Flowers
Flower color
Yellow
Flower shape
Daisy or dandelion-like
Tubular
No
First bloom month
July
Last bloom month
November
Bright yellow flower heads numerous, small and narrow, arranged in dense flat-topped clusters of 3 to 10 at the tips of branchlets but sometimes solitary. Ray petals 3 to 8 per flower head, disc flowers 3 to 9 per flower head.
Flower clusters
Rounded
Fruit
Fruit color
Brown
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit is a rounded brown achene densely covered with hairs and topped with papery scales.