Mojave Hole In The Sand Plant

Perennials, (5–)10–29 cm (deeply taprooted). Stems erect. Leaf blades 20–70 mm overall, lobes 5–11, ± quadrate to linear, rachis widths mostly 2–3 times lobe widths. Peduncles 2–10 mm. Calyculi of 2–4 bractlets 4–8 mm. Involucres turbinate to cylindric, 14–18 mm. Phyllaries 8–12, linear to ovate. Ray florets 8–12, laminae 4–9 × 2.5–4 mm. Disc florets (30–)60–100+; corollas yellow, purple-tipped, 8–9.5 mm. Cypselae 7–9 mm; pappi: bristles 3–7 mm, scales 6–8 mm. 2n = 20.

Nicolletia occidentalis A. Gray; Torr. in Frem. Rep. 316. 1845
A perennial herb, with a slender rootstock; stem stout, 2-3 dm. high, with ascending branches, striate, glabrous; leaves alternate, fleshy, 3-5 cm. long, pectinately pinnatifid with linear, awntipped divisions, each bearing a gland near the tip; heads subsessile; involucre 15-17 mm. high, 8-10 mm. broad; principal bracts 8-12, broadly linear, glabrous, abruptly acute, slightly scarious-margined, with a single gland near the apex, and occasionally one or two near the margins below; accessory bracts 1-5, ovate, acute, one third to one half as long as the involucre; ligules flesh-colored, oblong, mostly ascending, 4 mm. long; diskcorollas yellow, 8 mm. long; tube 1.5 mm. long; lobes lanceolate, glandular-puberulent ; achenes 8 mm. long; squamellae S mm. long, narrowly lanceolate, gradually attenuate into hispidulous awn-tips; bristles 5-6 mm. long.
Type locality: Banks of the Mojave River, southeastern California. Distribution: Southern California.

Nicolletia occidentalis is a flowering plant in the tribe Tageteae of the family Asteraceae which is known by the common name Mojave hole-in-the-sand plant.

This flower is native to California, especially the Mojave Desert, and northern Baja California.