Volutaria tubuliflora

Egyptian knapweed, Canary Islands Knapweed

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Egyptian knapweed is a naturalized annual found in western Sonoran Desert near Borrego Springs in disturbed ground and seasonally flooded sites at elevations of up to 250 meters. Flowering from February to June, this plant produces white to purple flowers in clustered heads 10 to 15 millimeters long with distinctive white-margined, spine-tipped phyllaries. Growing up to 1.5 meters tall with branching stems that become increasingly glandular and cobwebby, the plant develops widely elliptic to oblanceolate leaves that become deeply lobed with dentate edges. Its leaves are characterized by proximal leaves that are widely elliptic, with middle leaves creating decurrent toothed wings along the stem, and distal leaves becoming progressively smaller and bract-like. The fruit is pale gray-brown, 3 to 3.5 millimeters long, and covered in ascending hairs.

Habitat: Disturbed ground, seasonally flooded sites

Bloom period: Feb-Jun

Elevation: <= 250 m

Bioregions: w DSon (vicinity of Borrego Springs)

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