Biology:Palafoxia arida var. gigantea
| Palafoxia arida var. gigantea | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Palafoxia |
| Species: | |
| Variety: | P. a. var. gigantea
|
| Trinomial name | |
| Palafoxia arida var. gigantea (M.E.Jones) B.L.Turner & M.I.Morris
| |
Palafoxia arida var. gigantea, with the common name Spanish needles, is a variety of flowering plant from the sunflower family (Asteraceae).[2]
Distribution
It is found in the western and northwestern Sonoran Desert of Arizona and its Colorado Desert subregion of southeastern California ,[2] and in northwestern Mexico in Sonora and Baja California states.[3]
It is most commonly found in sand dunes, and sometimes in riverine areas, including along the Colorado River, Gila River, and irrigation canals in Imperial County, California.
It is a California Native Plant Society listed Vulnerable species in California.[4]
Description
Palafoxia arida var. gigantea is an erect, slender stem grows 30–60 cm tall, branching in the lower half and is sparsely leaved.[3] It is glandular and hairy on the upper parts.[3]
It has 2-5 inch slender leaves.[5][6]
In the Yuma region of the Lower Colorado River Valley, in semi-shaded sites with annual but sparse rainfall, single plants can grow to be bushy and produce around 100 flowers.
The wind-borne seeds are dandelion-like, but larger and in a smaller quantity per flower. The plant with seed is easily identified since the seeds splay out in a flat circle until broken from the plant by strong wind. The seed is macroscopic in size, with about 10-16 seeds per circular flower-splay, each seed up to 0.6 in before the parachute.
References
- ↑ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.138779.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "USDA: Palafoxia arida var. gigantea". http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PAARG.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Jepson eFlora: Palafoxia arida var. gigantea". http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=8001.
- ↑ "California Native Plant Society Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants (online edition, v8-02): Palafoxia arida var. gigantea". http://www.rareplants.cnps.org/detail/1214.html.
- ↑ "Desertusa.com: High Res. photo of Palafoxia arida var. gigantea flower". http://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/FieldGuide/guideimages/purple/spanishneedles.jpg.
- ↑ "Desertusa.com: Wildflower Field Guide — "Purple and Blue Blooms"". http://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/FieldGuide/wildguidepurp.html.
External links
- Calflora Database: Palafoxia arida var. gigantea (Giant Spanish needle)
- USDA Plants Profile for Palafoxia arida var. gigantea (giant Spanish needle)
- Jepson eFlora (TJM2) treatment of Palafoxia arida var. gigantea
- U.C. Photos gallery of Palafoxia arida var. gigantea
Wikidata ☰ Q7126546 entry
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