Desert Dandelion (Malacothrix glabrata)

Family Asteraceae

These annual flowers were photographed in Sierra Blanca Canyon Wash in late March 2005. The leaves are "green, linear, pinnately lobed, mostly basal" (Epple, cited on main wildflower page, p. 282). Below left is a close view of the leaves; below right, of the flower. Click on each image to enlarge it.

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Both Epple and Niehaus et al. (p.220) say that the centers of the flowerhead are red until all the flowerheads expand. Ours seem not to show this pattern consistently, though otherwise they fit the designation we give it here. The one above right does show a very faint reddening at the center.