WILDFLOWERS OF NEW MEXICO

This 1–3 1/2-feet tall flower can form a wave of flowers covering mountain meadows and fields. Note the rough, hairy leaves and showy yellow ray flowers surrounding a dark-brown, dome-shaped disk.

FLOWER: April–July. Flower heads bloom on 2–7 3/4-inch long (5–20 cm) hairy stems (peduncles); 8–13, spreading (not drooping), petal-like ray flowers reach 1-inch long (25 mm) with strong veins and slightly notched tips, and may have a reddish base. The dark-brown central disk, a 3/8–1 1/2-inch (8–38 mm) dome, forms “Susan’s” eye.

LEAVES: Basal and alternate on stem. Blades 2–4-inches long (5–10 cm), lance-shaped to oval; surfaces covered with stiff hairs, margins (edges) vary from entire to serrated.

HABITAT: Sandy, loamy soils, stream sides, mountain meadows, roadsides; ponderosa, aspen, mixed conifer forests.

ELEVATION: 6,800–10,800 feet.

RANGE: CO, NM, WY, and all states eastward.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Prairie Coneflower, Ratibida columnifera, statewide, has drooping rays and a tall cylindrical cone. Sunflowers, Helianthus species, don't have the domed, protruding disk.

NM COUNTIES: In moist mid- to high-elevation habitats of north-cent. and sw NM: Catron, Colfax, Curry, Grant, Lincoln, Los Alamos, Mora, Rio Arriba, San Miguel, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Taos.