''Townsendia rothrockii'' 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 ...

known by the common name Rothrock's Townsend daisy. It 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 ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

in the United States, where there are 35 occurrences across thirteen counties. Reports of the plant from

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

are false. This plant is a small perennial herb forming a dense rosette of thick leaves up to 3.5 centimeters long. It grows from a

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...

and

caudex A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...

. 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 cup-shaped and up to 2.8 centimeters wide. The ray florets are blue to lilac in color and measure up to 1.6 centimeters in length. The center of the head contains yellow disc florets.Beatty, B.L., W.F. Jennings, and R.C. Rawlinson (2004, April 26)
''Townsendia rothrockii'' Gray ex Rothrock (Rothrock’s Townsend daisy): A technical conservation assessment.
nline USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region. This plant grows in high-elevation habitat in the mountains of southwestern Colorado. It can be found in a number of habitat types in montane,

subalpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

and

alpine climate Alpine climate is the typical weather (climate) for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions of ...

s, including

fellfield A fellfield or fell field comprises the environment of a slope, usually alpine or tundra, where the dynamics of frost (freeze and thaw cycles) and of wind give rise to characteristic plant forms in scree interstices. Soil dynamics The freeze-thaw ...

s, talus, meadows, ridges, passes, rock outcrops, and disturbed areas. Species associated with the plant include ''

Abies lasiocarpa ''Abies lasiocarpa'', the subalpine fir or Rocky Mountain fir, is a western North American fir tree. Description ''Abies lasiocarpa'' is a medium-sized evergreen conifer with a very narrow conic crown, growing to tall, exceptionally , with a ...

'', ''

Agrostis thurberiana ''Agrostis thurberiana'' is a species of grass that is native to northwest and southwest United States and Canada (the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, British Columbia, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and California). Description The species is perennial ...

'', ''

Anemone multifida ''Anemone multifida'' is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common names cutleaf anemone, Pacific anemone and globe anemone. It is a perennial herb native to northern North America from Alaska to New York and as fa ...

'', ''Draba nivalis'' var. ''exigua'', ''

Eritrichium aretioides ''Eritrichium'' (alpine forget-me-not) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. It contains 78 species. Notable members include '' Eritrichium howardii'' and '' Eritrichium nanum''. Its native range stretches from temperate Eura ...

'', ''

Festuca thurberi ''Festuca thurberi'' is a species of Poaceae, grass known by the common name Thurber's fescue. It is native to a section of the western United States encompassing New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. It probably also occurs in parts of Arizon ...

'', '' Oreoxis alpina'', ''

Pinus ponderosa ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

'', ''

Polemonium viscosum ''Polemonium viscosum'', known as sky pilot, skunkweed, sticky Jacobs-ladder, and sticky polemonium, is a flowering plant in the genus ''Polemonium'' native to western North America from southern British Columbia east to Montana and south to Ariz ...

'', '' Rydbergia grandiflora'', ''

Trifolium dasyphyllum Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus h ...

'', ''

Trifolium nanum ''Trifolium nanum'', the dwarf clover, is a perennial plant from the family Fabaceae. It was first recorded by Edwin James in 1820. Nanum means, "dwarf," in Latin. Description ''Trifolium nanum'' is a perennial plant A perennial plant ...

'', and '' Valeriana capitata''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7830203 rothrockii Flora of Colorado