Malacothrix glabrata, commonly known as the smooth desert dandelion or desert dandelion, is an annual plant with yellow flowers that appears in western North America.
Description Like other members of its genus, Malacothrix glabrata has a milky sap and daisy-like flower heads. The plants grow to tall. The leaves are long, with stringy lobes. The fragrant flower heads are wide, composed of smaller yellow to white strap-like flowers called "ligules".Morhardt, Sia; Morhardt, Emil (2004). California Desert Wildflowers, University of California Press, pp. 64–65 In the center of the flower head may be an orange to red "button", composed of several immature flowers.Susan J. Wernert, Reader's Digest Association, Brenda Jackson. North American Wildlife: An Illustrated Guide to 2,000 Plants and Animals. Reader's Digest, 1998. p.467.
Taxonomy It is a dicot in the family Asteraceae. The name "glabrata" refers to the leaves being (nearly) hairless.
Distribution and habitat The species is native to the western United States, excluding much of the Pacific Northwest, and into northern Mexico. It is common to the southwestern deserts of North America.
References
External links Jepson Manual Treatment USDA Plants Profile CalFlora Flora of North America Photo gallery