Asteraceae

Townsendia florifera

Showy Townsendia

Rosette winter-hardy, with erect, spreading stems. Leaves ash gray, oval, entire, widest at tip end, 1/2–1 1/2 in. including long petiole. Stems leafy, often branched, topped with flower heads. Flower heads with 18–30 pink, pale lavender, or white ray flowers, each ray 1/4–1/2 in. long; many yellow disk flowers with projecting tufts of hair. Grows in gravelly and sandy places in sagebrush-steppe. Very similar T. parryi has flowers and basal leaves about 1/2 as big.

• Rarity: Locally Common
• Flowering Time: Late Spring, Early Summer
• Life Cycle: Annual
• Height: 2--8 inches
• Habitat: Shrub-Steppe
• Found In:
• Native: Yes