WILDFLOWERS OF NEW MEXICO

Dense clumps of 4–10-inch tall, leafy stems are crowned with bright yellow clusters of tiny flower heads. Note the flower heads have tiny ray flowers, and the narrow and bright-green, grass-like leaves grow vertically parallel to the stems.

FLOWERS: June–September. Compact clusters of small yellow flower heads, each to 1/8-inch wide (3 mm) with 1–3 tiny ray flowers, 2–4 tiny disk flowers; phyllaries cupping the head are greenish-tan, often with a dark gland below the tip.

LEAVES: Basal; opposite on stem. Blades vertical along stem, reaching 4 3/4-inches long (12 cm) and 1/2-inch wide (12 mm), margins entire, tips pointed; upper leaves stemless.

HABITAT: Dry sandy, rocky soils, mesas, bluffs, flats; badlands, pinyon-juniper woodlands.

ELEVATION: 5,300–7,400 feet.

RANGE: AZ, CA, CO, ID, NM, NV, UT, WY.

SIMILAR SPECIES: The widespread Jimmyweed, Isocoma pluriflora, has no ray flowers and leaves reach 1 1/2-inches long, often with small leaves in axils and scattered pointed teeth.

NM COUNTIES: Common in nw NM in mid-elevation, arid habitats: Cibola, McKinley, Rio Arriba, San Juan, San Miguel, Sandoval, Taos, Valencia.