Stems to 39 inches and flexuous (zigzagged); reclining on ground with tips ascending; flowers with yellowish-white throats, anthers and stamens yellow, 5 petals with rounded tips, visible veining on surface of petals; hairs long and forked.
Leaves heart-shaped, margins round-toothed, dark green above, lighter below. Flowers white to yellowish-orange, throats yellow; anthers, stamens yellow, petals 5, tips rounded, visible venation; fruit segmented, reflexed, star-shaped, bract tips pointed.Â
Habitat
Found on dry slopes, canyons, roadsides, and desert-scrub communities.
Flower Characteristics
Flowers borne solitary in leaf axils on slender, zigzagged stalks; 5 petals, white to light yellowish-orange, 1/4 to 1/2 inch long with visible veining; anthers golden yellow, styles 10 to 12.
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Alternate, heart-shaped and attached at wider end; 1/3 to 2-3/4 inches long; margins with rounded teeth; lower blades with short stalks, upper blades becoming progressively reduced and short-stalked or stalkless.
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Rounded, inflated fruit resembles pincushion; 3/4 inch diameter; 10 to 12 segments; bending downward; longer than wide; small, star-shaped, bracts below have pointed tips;Â papery, silvery-shiny inside, outer surfaces with short bristles.
3 seeds per segment.