Pygmy-Cedar
Peucephyllum schottii
Photographed in the Muggins Mountains Wilderness, Yuma Co., Arizona. 31 Jan. 2010.
SHRUB: Medium-sized shrub mostly about one
meter to two meters tall but sometimes reaching almost 3 meters. In
California deserts this plant may grow as a small tree with a single trunk.
LEAVES: Dark green, linear leaves are nearly round in cross-section and
so appear to be coniferous needles. With magnification the foliage is beset
with small oil glands. The name Peucephyllum is derived from Greek
meaning Fir-Leaf.
FLOWERS: Yellow flowers in discoid heads, i.e. there are no rays. One to
two dozen florets surrounded by a dozen plus narrow phyllaries.
RANGE: Occasional in the far western protions of the Sonoran Desert from
Mojave County south to Yuma County in Arizona. More common in the Mojave Desert
and ranging south into Baja California Sonoran Desert regions.
FRUIT: Achenes are topped with a pappus of fine bristles.
UNARMED. Thornless.