''Malacothrix'' is a genus of plants in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae.Tropicos, Malacothrix DC.
/ref> They are known generally as desert dandelions or desertdandelions. Most are native to western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

although a few have been introduced to South America. Several are found only on offshore islands in the Pacific.''Malacothrix''.
Flora of North America. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrates that ''Malacothrix'' is not

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

. Some of its species are related to ''

Atrichoseris ''Atrichoseris'' is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae. It contains only one known species, ''Atrichoseris platyphylla'', known by the common names tobacco weed, parachute plant, and gravel ghost. ''A. platyphylla'' is native to the dese ...

'', whereas a second group is more closely related to ''

Anisocoma ''Anisocoma acaulis'' (scale bud) is a wildflower found in the Mojave, Colorado Deserts, and California's Owens Valley above (states of Arizona, Nevada, California, Baja California, and Sonora), up to about 7000 ft. It is the only known m ...

'' and ''

Calycoseris ''Calycoseris'' is a small genus of two species of annual desert wildflowers in the family Asteraceae, native to western North America in the southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. They are characterized by the tack-shaped gland hai ...

''.Lee, J., et al. (2003)
Phylogenetic relationships among the primarily North American genera of Cichorieae (Compositae) based on analysis of 18S-26S nuclear rDNA ITS and ETS sequences.
''Systematic Botany'' 28(3), 616-26. ;Species # '' Malacothrix californica'' - California desertdandelion - CA Baja California,

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...

# ''

Malacothrix clevelandii ''Malacothrix clevelandii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Cleveland's desertdandelion. It is native to parts of the southwestern United States and Baja California, where it can be found most o ...

'' - Cleveland's desertdandelion - CA AZ UT Baja California # '' Malacothrix coulteri'' - snake's head - CA NV AZ UT NM Baja California # '' Malacothrix fendleri'' - Fendler's desertdandelion - AZ NM TX

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

# '' Malacothrix floccifera'' - woolly desertdandelion - CA NV # ''

Malacothrix foliosa ''Malacothrix'' may refer to: * ''Malacothrix'' (mammal), a genus of rodents * ''Malacothrix'' (plant), a genus of plants {{Genus disambiguation ...

'' - leafy desertdandelion -

San Clemente Island San Clemente Island (Tongva: ''Kinkipar''; Spanish: ''Isla de San Clemente'') is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. It is administered b ...

# ''

Malacothrix glabrata ''Malacothrix glabrata'', commonly known as the smooth desert dandelion or desert dandelion, is an annual plant in the family Asteraceae.Sia Morhardt, Emil Morhardt, California Desert Wildflowers, University of California Press, p. 64-65 It is co ...

'' - smooth desertdandelion - CA NV AZ NM ID OR Baja California,

# '' Malacothrix incana'' - dunedelion - CA # '' Malacothrix indecora'' - Santa Cruz Island desert-dandelion - Santa Cruz Island # ''

Malacothrix insularis ''Malacothrix'' may refer to: * ''Malacothrix'' (mammal), a genus of rodents * ''Malacothrix'' (plant), a genus of plants {{Genus disambiguation ...

'' - island desertdandelion - Coronados Island in Baja California # ''

Malacothrix junakii ''Malacothrix junakii'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names Anacapa Island desert-dandelion, Junak's desertdandelion, and Junak's malacothrix. It is endemic to Anacapa Island, one of the Cha ...

'' - Junak's desertdandelion - Anacapa Island # '' Malacothrix phaeocarpa'' - Davis' desertdandelion - CA # '' Malacothrix saxatilis'' - cliff desertdandelion - CA # ''

Malacothrix similis ''Malacothrix'' may refer to: * ''Malacothrix'' (mammal), a genus of rodents * ''Malacothrix'' (plant), a genus of plants {{Genus disambiguation ...

'' - twin desertdandelion - CA Baja California # '' Malacothrix sonchoides'' - sowthistle desertdandelion - OR ID WY CO NM AZ UT NV CA # '' Malacothrix sonorae'' - Sonoran desertdandelion -

AZ NM TX # '' Malacothrix squalida'' - Santa Cruz desertdandelion - Santa Cruz Island # '' Malacothrix stebbinsii'' - Stebbins' desertdandelion - OR CA NV AZ NM UT

# '' Malacothrix torreyi'' - Torrey's desertdandelion - CA NV AZ NM UT CO WY ID MT OR # '' Malacothrix xanthi'' - Baja California,

References

External links

USDA PLANTSThe Jepson eFlora 2013
Asteraceae genera Flora of North America {{Cichorieae-stub