Pinch this 4–18-inch-tall flower and smell the fetid odor. Small reddish, bell-shaped flower heads with tiny yellow rays, and leaves dissected into thin lobes cover the 4–16-inch tall, branching stems.

FLOWERS: August–October. Small, reddish, bell-shaped flower head (involucre), 3/16–3/8 inch diameter (4-10 mm); 8 or fewer tiny, yellow ray flowers with notched tips that barely extend beyond the yellow disk flowers.

LEAVES: Opposite below, often alternate above. Blades 3/4–2 inches long (2–5 cm), pinnately divided into 11–15 narrow lobes along the midrib and often divided again at tips, dotted with oil-glands.

HABITAT: Sandy, rocky, clay, loamy soils, meadows, disturbed areas, roadsides; shortgrass prairies, pinyon-juniper woodlands.

ELEVATION: 4,000–8,700 feet.

RANGE: TX to Canada.

SIMILAR SPECIES: The odor, dissected leaves, and reddish flower head distinguish this species.

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

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