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Blow Wives (Achyrachaena mollis)
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Flower
Yellow
White
Red
Many Petals
Petals Not Obvious
Alternate
Opposite
Typical Height
Annual
Native
Description
Height 2 in. - 2 ft.
EW Bloom Apr - May
This eye-catching bright-white flower is not a flower at all. As you look closer, you'll see that the "petals" are actually the flat scales of a seed head.
A California
endemic
, this plant grows natively nowhere else in the world.
AKA Soft Blow Wives
Aster Family (Asteraceae)
Here is the classic Blow Wives look. Flat, scaly
pappus
forms a wind parachute for each seed.
Yellow or orange
ray florets
point straight up. Inside them, many
disc florets
grow without petal-like rays.
Leaves are narrow and grow up to 6" long. They're erect and fuzzy.
Photo Gallery (49 ) click any picture to enlarge
The Blow Wives seed head may remind you of a perfect dandelion, but the white [[pappus]] parts are flat and have a blunt tip. This distinctive combin ...
In summer, great colonies of Blow Wives make a striking display with their white spherical seed heads. They're widespread in California, growing in ...
The species name for Blow Wives, [i]mollis[/i], is Greek for "soft". This refers to the velveteen hairs that grow on its leaves, stem and [[phyllarie ...
Stems are hollow-centered and vertical, presenting flowers at their tips where they can be easily found by insect pollinators. Long leaves also poi ...
Imagine you're a flying insect pollinator seeking [[nectar]]. Your eyes don't see orange but do pick up yellow. When you visit yellow Blow Wives flo ...