Monoptilon bellioides
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Monoptilon bellioides, the desert star, also called Mojave desertstar,[1] is a desert flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.
Description
Monoptilon bellioides is a short annual plant; in seasons with very little rainfall, the plant may only grow to Template:Convert, if it grows at all, while in seasons of heavy rainfall, it can grow up to Template:Convert tall. The leaves are linear, Template:Convert long, with a blunt apex and stiff hairs.[2]
The flowers are produced in dense inflorescences (capitula), 2 cm wide,[2] with white ray florets and yellow disc florets in the center. The flowers open in the morning and close in the evening.
Similar species
Found in the same region, the fruit of Monoptilon bellidiforme is topped by one plume-tipped bristle.[2]
Distribution and habitat
It is native to stony and sandy plains in the Mojave Desert of California, the Sonoran Deserts of the Southwestern United States, and northwestern Mexico.[2] It is very common in the northern, eastern, and southern parts of the desert.
References
- Stewart, Jon Mark (1998). Mojave Desert Wildflowers, p. 41.