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Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme)
Annual Forbs Around Las Vegas, Vegetation Around Las Vegas
Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme)
Tufted plant with small, white flowers

General: Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme) is a small, mounded annual forb in the sunflower family. The small flowers have white "petals" and yellow centers. The leaves are short and broad towards the tip with many stiff hairs. The stems can be reddish. Daisy Desertstars have smaller flowers than the related Mojave Desertstar (Monoptilon bellioides).

Daisy Desertstar is a fairly common component of the spring wildflower display along sandy and gravely washes and bajadas in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub) life zones. Around Las Vegas, look for this species at Lake Mead, the Mojave National Preserve, and Death Valley National Park.

Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme)
Ray flowers ("petals") to about 5-mm long

Family: Sunflower (Asteraceae).

Other Names: Desert Star, Small Desertstar, Small Desert Star.

Plant Form: Mound-shaped; many thin branches.

Height: Usually about 2 inches, but spreading 5-8 inches.

Stems: Spreading along the ground; reddish.

Leaves: Short (to about 1/3-inch); broadest towards the tip; sparsely hairy.

Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme)
Leaf bristly, wider towards the tip

Flowers: Inflorescence: flowerheads at end of stems. Ray flowers ("petals") white, about 5-mm long. Disk flowers yellow.

Seeds: Seed with a single, tufted bristle (one pappus bristle with a plume at the tip).

Habitat: Sandy and gravely washes and bajadas.

Elevation: About 2,000 to 3,000 ft.

Distribution: California to Utah and south into northwestern Mexico.

Comments:

Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme)
Small, white flowers scattered across the ground
v
Small, white flowers scattered across the ground
Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme) Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme)
Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme) Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme)
Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme) Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme)
Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme)
Ray flowers ("petals") to about 5-mm long
Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme)
Ray flowers ("petals") to about 5-mm long
Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme)
Ray flowers ("petals") to about 5-mm long
Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme)
Leaf bristly, wider towards the tip
Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme)
Leaf bristly, wider towards the tip
Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme)
Leaf bristly, wider towards the tip
Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme)
Ray flowers ("petals") to about 5-mm long, yellow disk flowers
Daisy Desertstar (Monoptilon bellidiforme)
Ray flowers ("petals") to about 5-mm long, yellow disk flowers

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate. Names generally follow the USDA database.
copyright; Last updated 240617

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