Stylocline intertexta

Mojave neststraw, Mojave Neststraw

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Mojave neststraw is a California native annual found in northern and eastern Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert regions in open, stable, rocky or sandy soils at elevations of 40 to 1,400 meters. Flowering from February to May, this plant produces tiny white to cream-colored flowers in compact, woolly spherical heads approximately 5 to 6 millimeters in diameter. Growing low to the ground with slender stems 2 to 8 centimeters tall, it forms delicate, compact clusters. Its leaves are elliptic to oblanceolate, with the largest distal leaves 4 to 11 millimeters long and 1 to 2.5 millimeters wide, tapering to acute, mucronate tips. The fruit is small and compressed, with 1 to 4 fine pappus bristles measuring 1.1 to 2 millimeters long.

Habitat: Open, stable, rocky or sandy, often calcareous soils, rock bases, drip lines, dry drainages

Bloom period: Feb-May

Elevation: 40-1400 m

Bioregions: n&ampe DMoj, DSon

California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial

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