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Cliff desertdandelion

Malacothrix saxatilis

Also called Cliff Aster

Cliff desertdandelion
Photo: miheco, CC BY-SA 2.0
Family
Asteraceae (Daisy family)
Grows as
Perennial
Native range
California (Santa Barbara Co.)

About

Malacothrix saxatilis is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names cliff desertdandelion or cliff aster. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the central and southern coastal hills and mountain ranges. It is a perennial herb growing 30 to 60 centimeters tall from a rhizome and caudex unit. The leaves are variable in size and shape and may be lobed or not. The inflorescence is an array of flower heads lined with lance-shaped phyllaries. The ray florets are 1 or 2 centimeters long and white in color.

There are five varieties which intergrade, some of which are very limited in distribution.

Other Malacothrix plants

California desertdandelion · Cleveland's desertdandelion · Snake's head · Woolly desertdandelion · Smooth desertdandelion · Dunedelion · Santa Cruz Island desertdandelion · Junak's desertdandelion · Sowthistle desertdandelion · Santa Cruz desertdandelion · Stebbins' desertdandelion · Desertdandelion

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Malacothrix saxatilis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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