Machaeranthera gracilis
| Machaeranthera gracilis | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Machaeranthera |
| Species: | M. gracilis |
| Binomial name | |
| Machaeranthera gracilis (Nutt.) Shinners | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Haplopappus gracilis | |
Machaeranthera gracilis (syn. Xanthisma gracile) is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names slender goldenweed and annual bristleweed. It is native the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in the deserts and plateaus. It is a bristly annual herb growing erect up to 45 centimeters tall. The oval or oblong are 1 to 3 centimeters long and divided into lobes or teeth tipped with bristles. The inflorescence bears one or more flower heads lined with pointed, roughly hairy phyllaries. The head has a center of many yellow disc florets and a fringe of 16 to 18 yellow ray florets roughly a centimeter long. The fruit is a woolly achene 2 to 3 millimeters long tipped with a pappus.