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Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum)
Shrubs Around Las Vegas, Vegetation Around Las Vegas
Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum)

General: Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum) is an upright, spindly shrub of rocky places that grows 2-3 feet tall and has yellow sunflowers. The lower leaves are spindly and lobed, each lobe with a spine on the tip; the upper leaves are entire. The involucre is broadly hemispheric, and each phyllary is tipped with a spine. The entire plant is covered with short, stiff hairs.

Spiny Goldenweed is a fairly common component of shrub communities on well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils on upper bajadas and moderate slopes into the lower mountains in the Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub and Pinyon-Juniper Woodland) life zone, but generally to the east of Las Vegas. It is possible that this species is moving westward and invading the deserts around Las Vegas.

Family: Sunflower (Asteraceae).

Other Names: sleepydaisy, Texas sleepydaisy, Xanthisma texanum, Xanthisma spinulosum var. gooddingii, Machaeranthera pinnatifida. The Jepson Manual uses the name Machaeranthera pinnatifida, Haplopappus gooddingii.

Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum)

Plant Form: Upright, drought deciduous shrub.

Height: To about 3 feet.

Bark: Green.

Stems: Upright, somewhat spreading, leafy.

Leaves: Lower leaves narrow, 1-2 inches long, lobed; lobes narrow, each tipped with a spine. Upper leaves smaller, narrow, entire.

Flowers: Blooms spring through summer. Inflorescence: composite heads with disk and ray flowers, one at the tip of each long branch. Involucre hemispheric, about 1/3rd inch long and 2/3rds inch wide. Phyllaries lanceolate, tipped with a bristle, green, glandular and rough to the touch. Flowers: yellow.

Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum)

Seeds: Tiny achene (like a tiny sunflower seed) with many fine bristles.

Habitat: Dry, well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils on upper bajadas and moderate slopes in the lower mountains.

Elevation: To about 2,000 feet.

Distribution: California, southern Nevada, Arizona, and northern Mexico.

Comments: This species is regionally variable, and the taxonomy is uncertain.

Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum) Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum)
Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum) Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum)
Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum) Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum)
Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum) Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum)
Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum)
Upper leaves entire
Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum)
Upper leaves entire
Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum) Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum)
Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum)
Lower leaves lobed, each lobe with a bristle
Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum)
Lower leaves lobed, each lobe with a bristle
Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum) Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum)
Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum) Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum)
Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum) Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum)
Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum)
Phyllaries lanceolate, tipped with a bristle
Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum)
Phyllaries lanceolate, tipped with a bristle
Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum) Spiny Goldenweed (Xanthisma spinulosum)

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate. Names generally follow the USDA database.
copyright; Last updated 220109

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