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.

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.

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.

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