Atrichoseris platyphylla

Gravel ghost

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Gravel ghost is a California native annual found in the Mojave Desert region in desert valleys and washes at elevations below 1,600 meters. Flowering from February to May, this plant produces delicate white flowers in heads 1.5 to 2.5 centimeters wide, arranged in open, scapose clusters. Growing 20 to 180 centimeters tall with an erect stem, it has a distinctive glabrous appearance and milky sap. Its basal leaves are obovate, 3 to 10 centimeters long, gray-green and often purple-tinged, lying flat against the soil with finely dentate edges. The plant produces cylindrical fruits 4 to 4.5 millimeters long with 4 to 5 blunt angles, characteristic of its unique desert adaptation.

Habitat: Desert valleys, washes

Bloom period: Feb-May

Elevation: < 1600 m

Bioregions: D

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.