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General: Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum) is an upright, spindly shrub of rocky places that grows 2-3 feet tall and has yellow sunflowers. The lower leaves are spindly and lobed, each lobe with a spine on the tip; the upper leaves are entire. The involucre is broadly hemispheric, and each phyllary is tipped with a spine. The entire plant is covered with short, stiff hairs.
Spiny Goldenweed is a fairly common component of shrub communities on well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils on upper
bajadas and moderate slopes into the lower mountains in the Upper
Sonoran (Mojave
Desert Scrub and Pinyon-Juniper Woodland) life zone, but generally to the east of Las Vegas. It is possible that this species is moving westward and invading the deserts around Las Vegas.
Family: Sunflower (Asteraceae).
Other Names: sleepydaisy, Texas sleepydaisy, Xanthisma texanum, Xanthisma spinulosum var. gooddingii, Machaeranthera pinnatifida. The Jepson Manual uses the name Machaeranthera pinnatifida, Haplopappus gooddingii. |
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Plant Form: Upright, drought deciduous shrub.
Height: To about 3 feet.
Bark: Green.
Stems: Upright, somewhat spreading, leafy.
Leaves: Lower leaves narrow, 1-2 inches long, lobed; lobes narrow, each tipped with a spine. Upper leaves smaller, narrow, entire.
Flowers: Blooms spring through summer. Inflorescence: composite heads with disk and ray flowers, one at the tip of each long branch. Involucre hemispheric, about 1/3rd inch long and 2/3rds inch wide. Phyllaries lanceolate, tipped with a bristle, green, glandular and rough to the touch. Flowers: yellow. |
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Seeds: Tiny achene (like a tiny sunflower seed) with many fine bristles.
Habitat: Dry, well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils on upper bajadas and moderate slopes in the lower mountains.
Elevation: To about 2,000 feet.
Distribution: California, southern Nevada, Arizona, and northern Mexico.
Comments: This species is regionally variable, and the taxonomy is uncertain. |
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