Scientific Family
Asteraceae
Synonyms
Townsendia incana, T.annua, T. arizonica
Other common names
Strigose Easter-daisy
Hairy townsendia
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual
Biennial or perennial
Similar species
Townsendia exscapa
Height
3/4 inch to 8 inches
Riparian
No
Low-growing in leafy compact mounds a few inches wide; reddish hairy stems may be upright or bent. Hairy leaves grow mostly along the stems to just below the flower heads which grow singly at the top. Basal leaves are often withered by flowering.
Leaves narrow, basal and along stems; flower heads at tips of stems; flower head bracts in 3 to 5 series; ray flowers, 8 to 30, white or pinkish, female, fertile; disc flowers yellow, typically 20 to 80 with short scales at their base.
Habitat
Found on sands, shales and clays, in open sites; dry mesas and slopes and desert scrub; juniper and pinyon communities.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
3000
High elevation
7000
Flower Characteristics
Flower heads have 8 to 30 elongated 1/3 inch flat ray flowers which are pink when in bud; disc flowers yellow, 1/16 inch, tube-shaped, numbering 20 to 80 (or more).
Flower color
White, pink, purplish with yellow disc flowers
Flower shape
Daisy or dandelion-like
Tubular
No
First bloom month
March
Last bloom month
September
Flower clusters
None
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Hairy reddish stems up to 8 inches long branching at the base and below the flower heads; narrow leaves to 2 inches long with a covering of short bristly hairs lying flat against the leaf surface.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Dark green
Leaf shape
Narrow
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Flattened, dry fruit are 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch long with rigid hairs and barbed at the tip.
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit color
Brown
Each fruit bears a single brown seed which is attached to the thin, dry fruit husk by a short stalk so that the seed is easily detached.