Like minuscule tacks, flat-headed glands cover the 8-inch tall, branching stems and bases of the showy, white flower heads. Note the square tips of the ray flowers with 5 tiny teeth, the red stripes on the backs of the outside rays, and the milky sap.

FLOWERS: March–June. Flower heads to 1 1/2-inches wide (38 mm) packed with rows of white, petal-like ray flowers with squared tips and 5 teeth, rays smaller toward the yellow-tinted center, no disk flowers present; rows of phyllaries beneath the rays covered with conspicuous tack-like glands.

LEAVES: Basal rosette; alternate on stem. Blades deeply incised to the midrib with narrow, linear lobes. Leaves greatly reduced up the stem, surfaces hairless.

HABITAT: Sandy, gravelly soils; desert grassland and scrub.

ELEVATION: 4,100–6,100 feet.

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

SIMILAR SPECIES: The look-alike Desert Chicory, Rafinesquia neomexicana, in much the same range, lacks the tiny, tack-shaped glands on the stems and flower bases.

NM COUNTIES: SW quarter of NM in low-elevation, arid habitats: Dona Ana, Grant, Hidalgo, Lincoln, Luna, Otero, Sierra, Socorro.