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Pectis cylindrica - Sonoran chinchweed

Scientific Family
Asteraceae
Synonyms
Pectis postrata var. cylindrica
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual
Similar species
Pectis prostrata
Height
To 8 inches
Riparian
Yes

Diffused, much-branched, stems marked by fine lines or grooves, usually very hairy, unscented; leaves narrow, to 1/2 inch long, can be fleshy, dotted by small glands; yellow flower heads usually solitary in leaf axils, in rounded clusters at ends of stem.

Trailing stems with leafy flower clusters; leaves, flowers, and stems gland-dotted; leaves bluish-green, narrow; flower heads have 3 bracts in a single series; disc flowers 3 to 14, ray 3 to 4; achenes topped with scales, sometimes 1 or more bristles.

Habitat

Sandy or gravelly soils on plains and mesas, in deserts, oak-juniper woodlands, grasslands, wash channels, mud flats, lawns, and roadsides.

Plant Community
Desert Scrub
Disturbed Areas
Grasslands
Interior Chaparral
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Riparian
Low elevation
1500
High elevation
5000

Flower Characteristics

Flower heads <1/8 inch, usually in leaf axils and solitary, in rounded clusters towards end of stems; ray flowers 3 to 4, 3 common, barely surpass phyllaries (bracts), phyllaries fall as a unit, dotted with scattered, glands; disc flowers 3 to 14.

Flower color
Yellow
Flower shape
Daisy or dandelion-like
Tubular
No
First bloom month
May
Last bloom month
September
Flower clusters
Rounded

Leaf and Stem Characteristics

Narrow to lance-like, narrowest end at attachment site, to 8 inches long, <1/8 inch wide, gland-dotted on lower surface, margins with 2 to 5 pairs of short bristles.

Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Bluish-green
Leaf shape
Narrow
Leaf margin
Other
Leaf attachment
Opposite
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
None
Spines
No

Fruit and Seed Characteristics

Fine silvery hairs; achenes (1-seeded dried fruit that does not split open) of ray flowers have 2 scales; disc flower achenes 5 scales.

Fruit type
Achene
Fruit color
Black