Chaetadelpha wheeleri

Wheeler's dune-broom, Wheeler's Dune-Broom

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.2

Wheeler's dune-broom is a rare (CNPS 2B.2) California native perennial found in the northern Mojave Desert and southern eastern California deserts in sand dunes, alkali flats, and creosote-bush scrub at elevations of 800 to 1,800 meters. Flowering from May to September, this plant produces pale lavender to white flowers in narrow heads approximately 11 to 14 millimeters long. Growing with multiple ascending to erect stems 15 to 40 centimeters tall that are much-branched and originating from a stout rhizome, it forms a distinctive clumping habit. Its leaves are linear to lance-linear, with basal leaves 1 to 5 centimeters long and often withering during flowering, creating a sparse, open architectural form. The fruit is a light tan cylindric structure 8 to 12 millimeters long, topped with a distinctive pappus of 5 stiff awns and numerous shorter bristles.

Habitat: Sand dunes, alkali flats, creosote-bush and sagebrush scrub

Bloom period: May-Sep

Elevation: 800-1800 m

Bioregions: SNE, n DMoj

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