Often mounding with a basal cluster of lobed leaves and numerous branching stems with showy, yellow flowers, this 1–2-foot tall and wide plant is popular in xeriscape and colorscape designs. The common name comes from the chocolate aroma of the flowers. Note the maroon disk flowers and disk-like seed head.

FLOWERS: April–November. Showy flower head 1–2 inches (25–50 cm) diameter with 8–10 yellow, petal-like ray flowers, 3/8–5/8 inch (10–15 mm) long, with notched tips and red veins on the bottom side. Distinctive, tiny, maroon florets with yellow stamens dot the maroon central disk. The ray flowers curl up during the heat of the day, then revive again the next morning. Seeds develop on a dime-sized, disk-like head and are relished by birds.

LEAVES: Alternate. Blade smooth, to 5 1/2–inches (14 cm) long, spatula-shaped with deep lobes along midrib, each lobe with teeth.

HABITAT: Sandy, gravelly soils, roadsides; desert grassland and scrub, prairies, pinion-juniper woodlands.

ELEVATION: 3,200–7,000 feet.

RANGE: AZ, CO, KS, NM, OK, TX.

SIMILAR SPECIES: The flower, leaf, and seed disk characteristics distinguish Chocolate Flower from other yellow members of the Aster Family.

NM COUNTIES: Statewide, except for McKinley, Rio Arriba, San Juan, Taos counties, in low- to mid-elevation, arid habitats.