Scale Bud
Anisocoma acaulis
Color: Yellow, pale yellow
Common name: Scale bud, scalebud
Latin name: Anisocoma acaulis
Family: ASTERACEAE
Height: 2-8" tall
Description: Many flowered from a rosette of leaves at the base of the stem that deteriorate readily. Milky sap.
Leaf: Grows from base of stem, lobes toothed, sometimes hairy.
Range: s Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi Mountain Area, San Joaquin Valley, South Coast Ranges, Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, Great Basin Floristic Province, Desert.
Habitat: Creosote Bush Scrub, Joshua Tree Woodland. Sandy washes, dry slopes.
Elevation: 600–2400 m.
Flowering time: Apr-June
Notes: Annual herb that is native to California and is also found outside of California to Nevada, Arizona, Baja California but is confined to western North America. Horticulture: Try — plant is insufficiently tested, but worth pursuing, especially within its natural range. Photographed in Inyo County, Calif.
We have an online wildflower field guide that is designed to help you identify desert wildflowers by color, scientific name, region and common name. The pictures are sized to work on the iPod, iPhone, iPad and similar devices. With your iPod or phone you will easily be able to identify wildflowers while in the desert. Links for downloads are on the bottom of the Wildflower Field Guide page.
Photo tips: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function - usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography.
Mojave Desert Wildflowers - This book is the standard by which all other wildflower books are measured. The author, Jon Mark Stewart, has combined super photography with concise information. This book has an entire color page for each wildflower covered, with a discussion of the wildflower. 210 pages with 200 color photos. More...
What's Blooming Now - Check the Wildflower Reports
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