Clusters of small but showy yellow flowers cover this densely branching, 3-foot tall and wide bush, followed by tan blanket of fluffy seed heads. Note the resinous odor of the dark-green, narrow leaves.

FLOWER: April–October. Flower heads on short stems (peduncles), to 5/8-inch long (15 mm), form dense arrays; each flower head has 3–6 yellow ray flowers, each 3/16-inch long (5 mm), surrounding a yellow disk with 6–16 tiny, tubular florets. Seeds are surrounded by a dense tuft of tan to off-white bristly hairs.

LEAVES: Alternate. Blades narrow, 3/8–3/4 inch long (10–20 mm), 1/16-inch wide (2 mm); surfaces deep green, dotted with resinous, glands, hairless.

HABITAT: Dry sandy, rocky soils, slopes, canyons, hills, desert mountains; desert scrub, pinyon-juniper-oak woodlands.

ELEVATION: 4,000–7,200 feet.

RANGE: AZ, CA, NM, TX.

SIMILAR SPECIES: The sub-shrub Damianita, Chrysactinia mexicana, in much the same range, reaches 20-inches tall and wide.

NM COUNTIES: NW fourth of NM in low- to mid-elevation habitats: Catron, Dona Ana, Grant, Hidalgo, Luna, Sierra.