Psathyrotes annua

Annual psathyrotes

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Annual psathyrotes is a California native perennial found on the northern edge of the San Bernardo Mountains, Southeastern Sierra Nevada, and Mojave Desert in alkali soils, washes, and playas at elevations of 400 to 2,000 meters. Flowering from April to October, this plant produces yellow flowers often with purple-tipped petals in small heads approximately 4 to 5 millimeters long. Growing with compact stems 4 to 15 centimeters tall, it forms low, rounded clusters in harsh desert environments. Its leaves are distinctive, with rounded to kidney-shaped blades 4 to 18 millimeters long and 6 to 26 millimeters wide, often featuring subtle teeth along the edges. The plant produces small fruits 2 to 3 millimeters long with delicate pappus bristles.

Habitat: Alkali soils, washes, playas

Bloom period: Apr-Oct

Elevation: 400-2000 m

Bioregions: n edge SnBr, SNE, DMoj

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