Stephanomeria parryi (Parry’s wirelettuce)

Plants: One to three thin erect stems 4–12″ (10–30 cm) tall branch out into intricate side branches.

Leaves: Linear to lanceolate, ¾–2″ (2–6 cm) long, with pinnately lobed edges.

Flowers: Pink-lavendar flowers have 8-14 florets. Flowers appear from May to June.

Fruits: Tan cypselae are ⅛–3/16″ (4.5–6 mm) long, ribbed, bumpy, and grooved; with pappi comprised of 10–15 tan bristles.

Habitats: Open, sandy and gravelly slopes in Upper Sonoran Zone, in many plant communities, in desert mountains; at elevations of 2297–6562′ (700–2000 m).

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Asterales	Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies
Family	Asteraceae	The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers
Genus	Stephanomeria	Derived from the Greek stephane, “wreath or crown,” and meros, “division”
Species	parryi	Named for Dr. Charles Christopher Parry (1823-1890), an English-born American botanist and botanical collector with the Pacific Railway Survey who visited the Southwestern mountains and deserts many times and is remembered in the names of more than a score of California native plants

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