Enceliopsis nudicaulis

Enceliopsis nudicaulis is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae known by the common name nakedstem sunray, or naked-stemmed daisy.

Description

E. nudicaulis is a perennial herb growing up to tall from a woody caudex fringed with gray-green hairy leaves. The leaves are oval and up to long and wide.
Blooming from May to August, the inflorescence is a solitary flower head atop a tall, erect peduncle. The flower head is ; it has a base made up of three layers of densely woolly, pointed phyllaries. It has a fringe of approximately 21 yellow ray florets each long. The fruit is a hairy achene about 1 cm in length.

Varieties

There are two recognized varieties of this species:

Enceliopsis nudicaulis var. corrugata, the Ash Meadows sunray – the rarer variety, which is probably endemic to Nevada in the vicinity of Ash Meadows in the Amargosa Desert. It is federally listed as threatened and is listed as a critically endangered and fully protected species by the State of Nevada.
Enceliopsis nudicaulis var. nudicaulis – found in most of species range

Distribution and habitat

Enceliopsis nudicaulis is native to the western United States: Idaho, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and California including the Inyo Mountains–White Mountains and sky islands the Mojave Desert in California. It grows in desert, plateau, and montane habitats.

Uses

It is sometimes used as an ornamental plant in dry areas.