Glyptopleura setulosa

Holy dandelion

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Holy dandelion is a California native annual found in the Mojave Desert on sandy desert flats, rocky soil, and arid grasslands at elevations of 400 to 1,400 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces cream to pale yellow flowers in small clusters with delicate ligules. Growing with short stems just 2 to 6 centimeters tall, it forms compact low-growing clusters across desert landscapes. Its leaves are relatively small, 1 to 6 centimeters long, with distinctive white, crust-like narrow margins that give the plant a distinctive pale appearance. The outer phyllary margins are notably crusted, particularly at their tips, creating a unique textural quality to this diminutive desert annual.

Habitat: Local on sandy desert flats, rocky soil, arid grassland, creosote-bush scrub

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: 400-1400 m

Bioregions: DMoj

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