Syntrichopappus fremontii (Fremont's-gold, yellowray Fremont's-gold false woolly daisy, or Fremont's xerasid), is a small annual plant in the family Asteraceae.Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam MacKay, 2nd Ed. 2013, p. 214California Desert Wildflowers, An Introduction to Families, Genera, and Species; Sia Morhardt, Emil Morhardt; p 74-5Jepson Desert Manual: Syntrichopappus, Dale E. Johnson, 2002 Ed., p 184 It has yellow flower heads and grows in the Mojave Desert, to Utah and northwestern Arizona.
Distribution and habitat Syntrichopappus fremontii grows at an altitude of , in open sandy or gravelly areas, often in association with Creosote bush scrub or Joshua tree woodland vegetation. It is distributed throughout the Mojave Desert, the southwest Sonoran Desert, and parts of northwestern Arizona, southwestern Utah and northern Baja California.
Description
Growth pattern Syntrichopappus fremontii grows from tall and is branched. It somewhat resembles Eriophyllum wallacei, but grows on higher ground and has only about half the number of ray flowers.
Leaves and stems Leaves are spoon-shaped or wedge-shaped, long, and may be 3-lobed at the tip.Dale E. Johnson (2013). Syntrichopappus fremontii, in: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora. Accessed August 2014.
Inflorescence and fruit It flowers from March or April to June. The inflorescence has 5 hardened phyllaries surrounding a head of 5 yellow ray flowers with several yellow disk flowers. The ray flowers have 3 strong lobes, or teeth.
The fruit is an achene with a pappus of 30–40 white bristles about long, fused at their base.
References