Tetradymia stenolepis is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Mojave cottonthorn.[1] It is native to the deserts around the intersection of Arizona, Nevada, and eastern California, where it grows in woodland and scrub habitat on sandy and gravelly substrates. It is a bushy shrub with many branches coated in woolly white fibers and growing to a maximum height just over a meter. The narrow leaves are 2 or 3 centimeters long and harden into straight, sharp spines. Clusters of woolly leaves grow near the spines. The inflorescence bears up to 7 flower heads which are each enveloped in four or five woolly phyllaries. Each head contains up to four or five tubular yellow flowers each around a centimeter long. The fruit is a hairy achene which may be nearly 2 centimeters long, including its pappus of long bristles.
Tetradymia stenolepis | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Asteraceae |
Genus: | Tetradymia |
Species: | T. stenolepis
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Binomial name | |
Tetradymia stenolepis |
References
edit- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Tetradymia stenolepis". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
External links
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