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.

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 [National Wildlife Refuge|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 (California)|White Mountains] and sky islands the Mojave Desert in California. It grows in desert, plateau, and montane habitats.

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