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Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

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Monoptilon bellioides (Mojave desertstar)
Unknown, NPSOT

Monoptilon bellioides

Monoptilon bellioides (A. Gray) H.M. Hall

Mojave Desertstar, Bristly Desertstar, Desert Star

Asteraceae (Aster Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: MOBE2

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

A small low plant with flower heads of white rays often tinged with rose surrounding a yellow central disc; longer branches tending to lie on ground.

As is often characteristic of desert annuals, this species' growth depends upon the amount of rainfall. If winter rains are ample, it and other spring wildflowers grow in profusion, even obscuring the surface of the ground; if rainfall is scant, the plant will be only a fraction of an inch tall, with one head disproportionately large in comparison to the rest of the plant. Daisy Desert Star (M. bellidiforme), a very similar species from the same region, has only one plume-tipped bristle atop the fruit.

 

From the Image Gallery

5 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Annual
Habit: Herb
Size Notes: Up to about 2 inches tall.
Fruit: Fruit is a cypsela (pl. cypselae). Though technically incorrect, the fruit is often referred to as an achene.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: White , Pink , Yellow
Bloom Time: Jan , Feb , Mar , Apr , May

Distribution

USA: AZ , CA , NV
Native Distribution: Southern California, western Arizona, and northwestern Mexico.
Native Habitat: Sandy or gravelly, desert flats.

Web Reference

Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.

Additional resources

USDA: Find Monoptilon bellioides in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Monoptilon bellioides in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Monoptilon bellioides

Metadata

Record Modified: 2022-12-30
Research By: TWC Staff

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