''Ivesia argyrocoma'' is a species of flowering plant in the rose family that is also known by its common name, silverhair mousetail. It is native to 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 � ...

of southwestern San Bernardino County, California. A population of ''Ivesia argyrocoma'' is also found in

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

in Mexico; this population may or may not be distinct and further study is required. ''Ivesia argyrocoma'' is a small perennial herb producing a clump of fuzzy reddish naked stems that grow horizontal to the ground and a number of tail-like hairy leaves which grow erect and may curl or droop. The stems are to long. Each leaf is a nearly cylindrical strip of tightly overlapping leaflets arranged around a central rachis up to long. The leaflets are green and covered in a dense coat of shiny silver hairs. Most of the leaves emerge from the base of the stem; a few very small ones may emerge farther up the stem. At the tip of the stem is an

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

of one or more clusters of glandular flowers. Each flower has generally five green and red, densely silver-haired, triangular

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s and five smaller oval or spoon-shaped white petals. The center of the ''Ivesia argyrocoma'' flowers contain twenty yellow-anthered white

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s and several

pistils Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

. The fruit is a tiny smooth brown

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
argyrocoma Flora of California Flora of Baja California {{rosoideae-stub