Pictured above is the perennial plant known as Yellow Spiny Daisy, Machaeranthera pinnatifida. It is one of the first flowers to bloom in early spring in West Texas. It grows low to the ground and spreads out from a deep taproot that may extend seven or more inches into the soil.
Apparently, Yellow Spiny Daisy is a member of a taxonomically complex group in the Aster family (Asteraceae); the field characteristics of this species can vary depending on your location. They occupy dry habitats in the Plains of the U. S. and Canada. Their range also includes the desert southwest of the U. S. (USDA)
Their compound flowers have between 30 and 150 or more disk florets and their ray florets range between 14 and 60. Disk florets and the petals of the ray florets of Yellow Spiny Daisy are yellow. In the image above, you can see several flowerheads in various stages of development and the pinnatifid leaves. The lobes of the leaves each have a white bristle at their tip from which their common name is derived. Because of the variety of this group, you may find different opinions on when they bloom. March through June is when I see these in flower around West Texas, but the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center says August through October.
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