Stylocline intertexta
Encyclopedia
Stylocline intertexta is a species of flowering plant in the aster family
known by the common names Morefield's neststraw and Mojave neststraw. It is native to the Mojave
and Sonoran Desert
s of California
, Nevada
, Utah
, and Arizona
, where it grows in rocky, sandy desert soils. It likely evolved as a hybrid between woollyhead neststraw
(Stylocline micropoides) and baretwig neststraw
(S. psilocarphoides); it is a mix of their morphological
traits and it occurs alongside both of them. It reproduces itself, producing fertile offspring, and it meets other criteria for any other definition of a species
, so it was described to science as such in 1992. It is a small annual herb growing at ground level and reaching just a few centimeters in length. It is usually coated in white hairs, often woolly. The small, pointed leaves are oval to lance-shaped and measure up to 1.5 centimeters long. The inflorescence
bears spherical flower heads
each a few millimeters in diameter. The head has no phyllaries
, just a ball of tiny woolly white flowers.
Asteraceae
The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
known by the common names Morefield's neststraw and Mojave neststraw. It is native to the Mojave
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
and Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
s of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, and Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, where it grows in rocky, sandy desert soils. It likely evolved as a hybrid between woollyhead neststraw
Stylocline micropoides
Stylocline micropoides is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names woollyhead neststraw and desert neststraw. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern areas in the northern states of Mexico, where it grows in desert habitat and other dry areas...
(Stylocline micropoides) and baretwig neststraw
Stylocline psilocarphoides
Stylocline psilocarphoides is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names baretwig neststraw and Peck's neststraw. It is native to the western United States from Idaho to southeastern California, where it grows in deserts and other dry, sandy, gravelly habitat...
(S. psilocarphoides); it is a mix of their morphological
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
traits and it occurs alongside both of them. It reproduces itself, producing fertile offspring, and it meets other criteria for any other definition of a species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, so it was described to science as such in 1992. It is a small annual herb growing at ground level and reaching just a few centimeters in length. It is usually coated in white hairs, often woolly. The small, pointed leaves are oval to lance-shaped and measure up to 1.5 centimeters long. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
bears spherical flower heads
Head (botany)
The capitulum is considered the most derived form of inflorescence. Flower heads found outside Asteraceae show lesser degrees of specialization....
each a few millimeters in diameter. The head has no phyllaries
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
, just a ball of tiny woolly white flowers.