''Malacothrix floccifera'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name woolly desertdandelion. It is native to many of the northern and central mountain ranges of California, including the

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 ...

, where its distribution extends into Nevada. Its habitat includes forest, woodland, and

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 ...

. It is an annual herb producing a hairless flowering stem up to about 42 centimeters in maximum height. The fleshy oblong leaves are cut into teeth or lobes and have cottony patches of woolly fibers. The inflorescence is an array of

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 ...

lined with hairless phyllaries. The ray florets are up to 1.5 centimeters long and are often white, but sometimes yellow.

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileFlora of North AmericaPhoto gallery

floccifera ''Athetis'' is a genus of moths of the family Noctuidae. The genus was erected by Jacob Hübner in 1821. Species Former species * ''Athetis miranda'' is now ''Proxenus miranda'' (Grote, 1873) * ''Athetis mindara'' is now ''Proxenus mindara'' ...

Flora of California Flora of Nevada Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Cichorieae-stub