Stephanomeria pauciflora (Wire Lettuce)

7/6/07 The flowers on this plant had the darkest, richest pink color I've ever seen on a Stephanomeria. 
Roadside off Hwy. 395 at West Portal Scenic Viewpoint (Portal Rd.), north of Mammoth Lakes, Mono County, CA

LIFE LIST NOTES:

COMMON NAME: Wire Lettuce

SPECIES: Stephanomeria pauciflora

FAMILY: Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

LIFE LIST DATE: 7/6/07

LOCATION: Roadside off Hwy. 395 at West Portal Scenic Viewpoint (Portal Rd.), north of Mammoth Lakes, Mono County, CA

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Treatment from Jepson eFlora:

NATIVE

Habit: Perennial herb to subshrub, 2--10+ dm, from woody caudex, glabrous (tomentose). 

Stem: 1--5+, intricately branched, branches ascending to widely spreading. 

Leaf: basal withered at flower; cauline reduced, deciduous in age, distal bract-like. 

Inflorescence: heads 1; peduncle 0--10 mm; involucre 8--11 mm; outer phyllaries appressed. 

Flower: 5--6(8); ligule white or lavender-pink. 

Fruit: 3.5--5 mm; faces tubercled, grooved; pappus bristles generally tan, plumose on distal 80%, widened at base, basally fused in groups, entirely persistent or only bristle base persistent. 

Ecology: Sandy, gravelly washes, slopes, plains; 

Elevation: 200--1500 m. 

Bioregional Distribution: s SNH, Teh, SnJV, SCoR, SCo, TR, e PR, SNE, D; 

Distribution Outside California: to Wyoming, Kansas, Texas, northwestern Mexico. 

Flowering Time: Mar--Nov 

Jepson eFlora Author: L.D. Gottlieb