- G. canescens in Death Valley
- Flower close-up
- Seeds
Geraea canescens | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Asteraceae |
Genus: | Geraea |
Species: | G. canescens |
Binomial name | |
Geraea canescens | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Geraea canescens, commonly known as desert sunflower, hairy desert sunflower, or desert gold, is an annual plant in the family Asteraceae. The genus name comes from the Greek geraios ("old man"), referring to the white hairs on the fruits. [2]
G. canescens bears yellow sunflower-like flowers on slender, hairy stems. It grows 0.30–0.91 metres (1–3 feet) high. The leaves are gray-green and grow to 8 centimetres (3 inches) long. It flowers February through May after sufficient rainfall, and sometimes in October and November. [3] The flowers are 5 cm (2 in) wide with 10–20 ray florets, which are each about 2 cm (3⁄4 in) long. [3]
The plant is native to western North America, specifically Arizona, Nevada, California, and Utah. A drought-resistant annual plant, it can be found in the California, [4] Mojave, and Sonoran Deserts. It grows below sea level, from −40 to 1,130 m (−130 to 3,700 ft), in sandy desert soils along with creosote bush ( Larrea tridentata ). [5] It is one of the flowers which participates in the occasional superblooms of desert flowers.
There are two varieties:
The flowers attract bees and birds, and the seeds are eaten by birds and rodents. [6]
Ptelea trifoliata, commonly known as common hoptree, wafer ash, stinking ash, and skunk bush, is a species of flowering plant in the citrus family (Rutaceae). It is native to North America, where it is found in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It is a deciduous shrub or tree, with alternate, trifoliate leaves.
Eriophyllum lanatum, with the common names common woolly sunflower, Oregon sunshine and golden yarrow, is a common, widespread, North American plant in the family Asteraceae.
Palafoxia, or palafox, is a genus of North American flowering plants in the Bahia tribe within the Asteraceae.
Erigeron concinnus, the Navajo fleabane, tidy fleabane or hairy daisy, is a perennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.
Erigeron divergens is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name spreading fleabane. It is native to western North America.
Castilleja exserta is a species of plant in the genus Castilleja which includes the Indian paintbrushes. Its common names include purple owl's clover, escobita, and exserted Indian paintbrush.
Baileya multiradiata is a North American species of sun-loving wildflowers native to the deserts of northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States. It has been found in the States of Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Aguascalientes, California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Texas.
Palafoxia arida var. gigantea, with the common name Spanish needles, is a variety of flowering plant from the sunflower family (Asteraceae).
Geraea is a genus of the family Asteraceae from the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, commonly called the desert sunflower.
Calycoseris wrightii, commonly known as white tackstem, is an annual spring wildflower, one of two species in the genus Calycoseris; the other species is C. parryi, the yellow tackstem. They are part of the family Asteraceae.
Sambucus racemosa is a species of elderberry known by the common names red elderberry and red-berried elder.
Chaenactis glabriuscula, with the common name yellow pincushion, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family. It is native to California and Baja California.
Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus is a species of shrub in the family Asteraceae of the Americas known by the common names yellow rabbitbrush and green rabbitbrush.
Encelia actoni, also known by the common names Acton brittlebush and Acton encelia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.
Dieteria canascens is an annual plant or short lived perennial plant in the family Asteraceae, known by the common names hoary tansyaster and hoary-aster.
Celtis reticulata, with common names including netleaf hackberry, western hackberry, Douglas hackberry, netleaf sugar hackberry, palo blanco, and acibuche, is a small- to medium-sized deciduous tree native to western North America.
Tetradymia argyraea is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names spineless horsebrush and gray horsebrush. It is native to western North America.
Ziziphus obtusifolia is a species of flowering plant in the buckthorn family known by several common names, including lotebush, graythorn, gumdrop tree, and Texas buckthorn.
Helianthus petiolaris is a North American plant species in the family Asteraceae, commonly known as the prairie sunflower or lesser sunflower. Naturalist and botanist Thomas Nuttall was the first to describe the prairie sunflower in 1821. The word petiolaris in Latin means, “having a petiole”. The species originated in Western United States, but has since expanded east. The prairie sunflower is sometimes considered a weed.
Tetraneuris acaulis is a North American species of flowering plants in the sunflower family. Common names include angelita daisy, stemless four-nerve daisy, stemless hymenoxys, butte marigold, and stemless rubberweed.