Scientific Family
Asteraceae
Synonyms
Malacothrix clevelandii var. stebbinsii
Other common names
Stebbins' desert dandelion
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual
Height
1-1/2 feet
Riparian
Yes
Small flower heads; only ray flowers, no disc flowers; seeds topped with about 18 bristles and 1 awn; bristles detach easily, while the awn remains; when flowers bloom leaves are shriveled or gone.
Annual; slender smooth stems branching from base; leaves mostly basal, diminishing on stem, lined with narrow lobes; small flower heads branched and spreading; pale yellow or white ray flowers; 15-ribbed achenes (fruit) with tuft of long bristles.
Habitat
Found along streams, in cleared areas, burns, slides, chaparral, and creosote bush shrub.
Plant Community
Riparian
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Disturbed Areas
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
2500
High elevation
4500
Flower Characteristics
Flowers on branches of main stem with many small, fanned out heads; pale yellow or white ray flowers; outer rays 1/16 inch; bracts 1/4 inch high; 5 to 12 small bracts around sepals; hairless.
Flower color
Pale yellow, white
Flower shape
Daisy or dandelion-like
Tubular
No
First bloom month
March
Last bloom month
June
Flower clusters
Elongated
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
1 to 5 slender stems; branching from the base; leafy, with milky sap; leaves mostly basal; to 4 inches long; upper leaves lance-shaped; pinnately lobed; lobes to 1/8 inch; margins rectangular; faces hairless; alternate.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Green
Leaf shape
Narrow
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
None
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Oblong-linear, ribbed, crowned with a ring of minute teeth; about 1/16 inch; topped with soft bristles; 1 or 2 of them stiffer.
Fruit type
Achene