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Silver Puffs

Uropappus lindleyi
(Microseris linearifolia/M. lindleyi)

Uropappus lindleyi Photo © by Michael Plagens

Photographed at Mesquite Wash, Maricopa Co., Arizona. Spring 2008.

Uropappus lindleyi Photo © by Michael Plagens

Photographed at Mesquite Wash, Maricopa Co., Arizona. Spring 2008.

FRUIT: The achenes are each topped with five, long silver scales. Together the conspicuous head and achenes resembles an oversized dandelion head.

ANNUAL: Moderately tall annual of spring found on rocky slopes and wash banks after wet springs. Stems exude milky sap when injured.

FLOWERS: All of the florets are strap-shaped. The outer florets are longer and are subtended by enlarged, star-shaped bracts. By mid morning the flowers wither in hot temperatures. The flower heads are suspended on long peduncles.

LEAVES: Leaves are almost entirely in a basal rosete at ground level. Pinnately dissected into narrow segments. Silky hairs.

RANGE: Frequent throughout the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and Mexico mostly at middle and upper elevations. Range extends from Texas to the Pacific Northwest.

UNARMED.

Asteraceae -- Sunflower Family

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Copyright Michael J. Plagens, 1999-2009