Eriophyllum ambiguum
Encyclopedia
Eriophyllum ambiguum is a species of flowering plant in the aster family
known by the common name beautiful woolly sunflower. It is native to the deserts and adjacent hills of southeastern California
and southern Nevada
, where it grows in chaparral
, woodlands, and desert habitat. It is an annual herb growing decumbent or upright with stems up to 30 centimeters long. The leaves are widely lance-shaped or oblong and sometimes have lobes. The inflorescence
produces one flower head
containing many yellow disc florets and 6 to 10 yellow, white, or bicolored ray florets which are each 2 millimeters to one centimeter in length. The fruit is a rough-haired achene
which may have a very small pappus
.
Asteraceae
The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
known by the common name beautiful woolly sunflower. It is native to the deserts and adjacent hills of southeastern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and southern Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, where it grows in chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
, woodlands, and desert habitat. It is an annual herb growing decumbent or upright with stems up to 30 centimeters long. The leaves are widely lance-shaped or oblong and sometimes have lobes. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
produces one flower head
Head (botany)
The capitulum is considered the most derived form of inflorescence. Flower heads found outside Asteraceae show lesser degrees of specialization....
containing many yellow disc florets and 6 to 10 yellow, white, or bicolored ray florets which are each 2 millimeters to one centimeter in length. The fruit is a rough-haired achene
Achene
An achene is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate and indehiscent...
which may have a very small pappus
Pappus (flower structure)
The pappus is the modified calyx, the part of an individual disk, ray or ligule floret surrounding the base of the corolla, in flower heads of the plant family Asteraceae. The pappus may be composed of bristles , awns, scales, or may be absent. In some species, the pappus is too small to see...
.