Malacothrix clevelandii
Encyclopedia
Malacothrix clevelandii is a species of flowering plant in the aster family
known by the common name Cleveland's desertdandelion. It is native to parts of the southwestern United States and Baja California
, where it can be found most often in chaparral
, including cleared and disturbed areas such as slopes recently burned by wildfire
. The plant is also found in southern South America where it is an introduced species
. It is an annual herb producing a flowering stem up to about 35 centimeters in maximum height. The toothed leaves are largest at the base of the plant, and reduced farther up. The inflorescence
is an array of flower heads
each bearing rings of pale yellow ray florets roughly half a centimeter long.
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 Cleveland's desertdandelion. It is native to parts of the southwestern United States and Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, where it can be found most often 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...
, including cleared and disturbed areas such as slopes recently burned by wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
. The plant is also found in southern South America where it is an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
. It is an annual herb producing a flowering stem up to about 35 centimeters in maximum height. The toothed leaves are largest at the base of the plant, and reduced farther up. 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...
is an array of flower heads
Head (botany)
The capitulum is considered the most derived form of inflorescence. Flower heads found outside Asteraceae show lesser degrees of specialization....
each bearing rings of pale yellow ray florets roughly half a centimeter long.