Low, unbranched to few branched annual, 1 to many reddish, thin stems. Leaves highly divided, needle-like lobes. Showy yellow funnel-shaped flowers with orange or purplish throats grow at the stem tips. These plants are difficult to spot unless in bloom.
Annuals to 6 inches tall, may be hairy or glandular; stems 1 to many, simple or few branched; flowers stems to 3/4 inch long; leaves on upper part of stems, palmately divided, needle-like lobes; petals yellow; sepals equal length of the flower tube.
Habitat
Found in dry, open areas, plains and mesas, desert flats and pinyon-pine/oak/juniper woodlands.
Flower Characteristics
Flowers are upright, about 1/2 inch wide and grow singly in open rounded clusters on thread-like stalks that grow to 3/4 inch long. Each flower is white and has 5 rounded petals that are fused into an open funnel shape with an orange or purplish throat.
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Leaves grow to 1/4 inch long and have a smooth to gland-dotted surface. They're divided into 3 to 7 linear segments (lobes) resembling the fingers of a hand and grow in whorl-like rings at well-spaced intervals usually along the upper part of the stems.
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
The fruit is dry and rounded.
Few to many seeds are found in each of the chambers (locules) of the capsule.