Monoptilon bellioides

Monoptilon bellioides
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Tribe:	Astereae
Genus:	Monoptilon
Species:	M. bellioides
Binomial name
Monoptilon bellioides (A.Gray) H.M.Hall

'Monoptilon bellioides, the Desert star', also called Mojave Desert Star, is a desert flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.

Distribution

It is native to stony and sandy plains in the Mojave Desert of California and the Sonoran Deserts of the Southwestern United States northwestern Mexico. It is and is very common in the northern, eastern, and southern parts of the desert.

Description

Monoptilon bellioides is a short annual plant; in seasons with very little rainfall, the plant may only grow to 1-2 cm, if it grows at all, while in seasons of heavy rainfall, it can grow up to 25 cm tall. The leaves are linear, 5-10 mm long, with a blunt apex.

The flowers are produced in dense inflorescences (capitula), 2 cm diameter, with white ray florets and yellow disc florets in the center. The flowers open in the morning and close in the evening.

References

• Jepson Flora Project: Monoptilon bellioides
• NRCS: USDA Plants Profile Monoptilon bellioides, [1], Photo: [2], NV: [3], AZ: [4], Calif: [5]
• Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Jon Mark Stewart, 1998, pg. 41
• The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Western Region, 1992, pg. 380

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