''Deinandra mohavensis'', commonly known as Mojave tarplant or Mojave tarweed, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

Description

''Deinandra mohavensis'' is an annual herb growing 10-100 centimeters (4-40 inches) tall. The stems are hairy and glandular. The leaves are bristly and glandular and smooth-edged or serrated on the edges. The

flower heads A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

are borne in clusters or somewhat open arrangements. The heads are lined with very glandular phyllaries. Each contains five yellow ray florets, each about half a centimeter long, and six yellow

disc floret The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

Distribution and habitat

The plant is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It has a

disjunct distribution In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but considerably separated from each other geographically. The causes are varied and might demonstrate either the expansion or contraction of a s ...

, occurring in the southernmost

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

, the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...

, the

Peninsular Ranges The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges, which ...

, and possibly the

San Bernardino Mountains The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at at San Gorgonio Mountain � ...

.Jepson eFlora: Deinandra mohavensis''
. accessed 4.15.2015''Deinandra mohavensis''.
Flora of North America.Calflora taxon report, University of California, ''Deinandra mohavensis'' (Keck) B.G. Baldwin, Mojave tarplant
/ref> It grows in moist areas in

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

and riparian zone habitat.''Hemizonia mohavensis''
The Nature Conservancy.

Conservation

This plant was considered

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

for over 50 years because its historical populations had disappeared. It was rediscovered in 1994 in the San Jacinto Mountains.''Hemizonia mohavensis''.
Center for Plant Conservation.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Deinandra mohavensis'' (Mojave tarplant)Jepson eFlora (TJM2) Treatment of ''Deinandra mohavensis''
*''Archived
Jepson Manual (TJM93): Hemizonia mohavensis
'
United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile for ''Deinandra mohavensis'' (Mojave tarweed)''Deinandra mohavensis'' — Calphotos Photo Gallery, University of California
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5252466 mohavensis Endemic flora of California Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Mojave Desert Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Flora and fauna of the San Jacinto Mountains Plants described in 1935