Xylorhiza tortifolia (Mojave aster)

Xylorhiza tortifolia (Torr. & A. Gray) Greene

Mojave aster, desert aster, mojave woodyaster

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Asterales	Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies
Family	Asteraceae	The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers
Genus	Xylorhiza	Woodyasters, from the Greek for “woody root”
Species	tortifolia	From the Latin for “twisted leaf”

About plant names...

This aster is native to the Mojave, Sonoran, and Great Basin deserts, and surrounding regions, of the southwestern United States. It is found in creosote bush scrub, saltbush scrub, and Joshua tree woodlands, below 1.0 mi (1.7 km) in elevation.

Plants: A perennial rounded, heavily branched shrub 8-24" (20-60 cm) around.

Leaves: linear or lanceolate, with spiny tips and edges. Leaves are ⅞-4" (2.5-10 cm) long, with hairy and glandular surfaces.

Flowers: Plants have as many as 20 composite flowers. Each peduncle or flower-bearing stem is 3-10" (8-25 cm). Phyllaries making up the cuplike green structure under the flower are ⅛-⅞" (5-25 mm) × 0.7-2.5 mm. There are 25-60 ray flowers, each ⅜-1¼" (1-3.3 cm) long; and 70-110 central disc flowers. Ray flowers are lavendar, light blue, or white. The overall flowerheads may be up to 2" (5 cm) around.

Fruits: ¹/₁₆-³/₁₆" (3-6 mm), with pappus bristles up to ¼" (9 mm) long. Each entire fruit is over ⅜" (1 cm) long.

Online References:

Xylorhiza tortifolia on Wikipedia

Xylorhiza tortifolia on DesertUSA: Exploring the Southwest

Xylorhiza tortifolia on www.gbif.org

Xylorhiza tortifolia var. tortifolia from the Jepson Manual

5/3/2018 · Keys View, Joshua Tree National Park, California

5/3/2018 · Keys View, Joshua Tree National Park, California
≈ 5 × 4½" (13 × 11 cm)

Xylorhiza tortifolia description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 1 Sep 2021.

5/3/2018 · Keys View, Joshua Tree National Park, California

5/3/2018 · Keys View, Joshua Tree National Park, California
≈ 5 × 3½" (13 × 9.0 cm)

5/3/2018 · Keys View, Joshua Tree National Park, California
≈ 4½ × 3½" (12 × 9.3 cm)

5/3/2018 · Keys View, Joshua Tree National Park, California
≈ 17 × 12" (42 × 29 cm)

5/3/2018 · Keys View, Joshua Tree National Park, California
≈ 7 × 4" (16 × 11 cm)

5/3/2018 · Keys View, Joshua Tree National Park, California
≈ 4 × 4½" (10 × 12 cm)

Range:

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