Malacothrix sonchoides
Encyclopedia
Malacothrix sonchoides is a species of flowering plant in the aster family
known by the common name sowthistle desertdandelion. It is native to much of the western United States, where it grows in sandy woodland and plateau habitat and along the edges of the deserts. It is an annual herb producing a hairless, waxy stem up to about 40 centimeters in maximum height. The fleshy leaves have wide toothed lobes along the edges. The inflorescence
is an array of flower heads
lined with sparsely hairy phyllaries
. The ray florets are just over a centimeter long and generally bright yellow in color.
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 sowthistle desertdandelion. It is native to much of the western United States, where it grows in sandy woodland and plateau habitat and along the edges of the deserts. It is an annual herb producing a hairless, waxy stem up to about 40 centimeters in maximum height. The fleshy leaves have wide toothed lobes along the edges. 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....
lined with sparsely hairy phyllaries
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
. The ray florets are just over a centimeter long and generally bright yellow in color.