About Chaenactis stevioides Hook. & Arn.
Chaenactis stevioides, also known as Esteve's pincushion, is an annual herb. It produces one or more erect stems that grow 10 to 45 centimetres (4 to 17+1⁄2 inches) tall. The stems are covered in hairy cobwebby fibers that thin out as the plant ages. Its leaves measure 1.5 to 4 centimetres (1⁄2 to 1+1⁄2 inches) long and are pinnately divided into many smaller subdivided lobes. This plant blooms from March to June. Its inflorescence holds several flower heads on a tall peduncle. Each flower head is lined with rigid, hairy, glandular phyllaries, and filled with disk flowers that can be white, pink, or pale yellow. The disk flowers in the center of the head are smaller and somewhat tubular, while the flowers closer to the edge are larger and open-faced, resembling ray florets. The fruit it produces is a hairy achene with a pappus made up of four scales. Esteve's pincushion is native to California, the Great Basin of the United States, and the southwestern deserts that extend into Mexico. It grows in open arid and semiarid habitats. According to the Flora of North America, it is "among the most abundant spring wildflowers in the higher Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin." It can also be found in the southern California chaparral and woodlands habitats.
