Syntrichopappus fremontii

Syntrichopappus fremontii (Frémont's-gold,[1] yellowray Frémont's-gold[2] false woolly daisy,[3] or Frémont's xerasid[4]), is a small annual plant in the family(Asteraceae.[3][4][5] It has yellow flower heads and grows in the Mojave Desert, to Utah and northwestern Arizona.[5]

Syntrichopappus fremontii
Illustration made during the Pacific Railroad Surveys
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Syntrichopappus
Species:
S. fremontii
Binomial name
Syntrichopappus fremontii
A.Gray

Distribution and habitat

Syntrichopappus fremontii grows at an altitude of 600–2500 m, in open sandy or gravelly areas, often in association with Creosote bush scrub or Joshua tree woodland vegetation. It is distributed throughout the Mojave Desert, the southwest Sonoran Desert, and parts of northwestern Arizona, southwestern Utah and northern Baja California.[6]

Description

Growth pattern

Syntrichopappus fremontii grows from 1 to 11 centimetres (0.39 to 4.33 in) tall and is branched.[6] It somewhat resembles Eriophyllum wallacei, but grows on higher ground and has only about half the number of ray flowers.[3]

Leaves and stems

Leaves are spoon-shaped or wedge-shaped, 5 to 20 centimetres (2.0 to 7.9 in) long, and may be 3-lobed at the tip.[6]

Inflorescence and fruit

It flowers from March[3] or April[5] to June.[3][5] The inflorescence has 5 hardened phyllaries surrounding a head of 5 yellow ray flowers with several yellow disk flowers.[3] The ray flowers have 3 strong lobes, or teeth.[3]

The fruit is an achene with a pappus of 30–40 white bristles about 2 mm long, fused at their base.[3][6]

Ecology

References
  1. "Plants Profile for Syntrichopappus (Fremont's-gold)". Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on 29 May 2017.
  2. "Plants Profile for Syntrichopappus (yellowray Fremont's-gold)". Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
  3. Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam MacKay, 2nd Ed. 2013, p. 214
  4. California Desert Wildflowers, An Introduction to Families, Genera, and Species; Sia Morhardt, Emil Morhardt; p 74-5
  5. Jepson Desert Manual: Syntrichopappus, Dale E. Johnson, 2002 Ed., p 184
  6. Dale E. Johnson (2013). Syntrichopappus fremontii, in: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora. Accessed August 2014.
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