Erect and bushy, this 1–2 foot tall sub-shrub has brittle branches tipped with open clusters of white, tassel-like flower heads. Note the paired, triangular, toothed leaves, the erect flower heads, and the late-summer to early-fall bloom time.

FLOWER: August–September. Flowers heads in open, spreading clusters. Heads have white disk florets with 10–20 protruding, string-like, stamens, and no rays.

LEAVES: Opposite, on 3/8–1 inch long (1–2.5 cm) stems (petiole). Blades triangular 3/4–2 inches long (2–5 cm); tip pointed, margins toothed.

HABITAT: Sandy, rocky soils; springs, washes, canyons, slopes, ridges, open forests; pinyon-juniper woodlands, pine-oak, pine-Douglas fir forests.

ELEVATION: 3,700–8,700 feet.

RANGE: AZ, CA, CO, NM, NV, TX, UT.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Tassel-flower Bricklebush, Brickellia grandiflora, in much the same range and habitat, has leaves with long, tapering tips, and pale yellowish-green flowers in dangling clusters at the branch tips. Wright’s Snakeroot, Ageratina wrightii, along the southern NM border, has 5/8-inch long leaves without teeth; Rothrock’s Snakeroot, A. rothrockii, in southern NM, has leaves with a rounded base, teeth, and a pointed tip, and white disk florets with hairy lobes (use lens).

NM COUNTIES: Widespread in low- to mid-elevation, habitats: Bernalillo, Catron, Cibola, Colfax, Dona Ana, Eddy, Grant, Guadalupe, Harding, Hidalgo, Lincoln, Los Alamos, Luna, McKinley, Otero, Rio Arriba, San Juan, San Miguel, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Sierra, Socorro, Taos, Torrance, Union, Valencia.