Xylorhiza tortifolia (Torr. & A. Gray) Greene
Mojave aster, desert aster, mojave woodyaster
This aster is native to the Mojave, Sonoran, and Great Basin deserts, and surrounding regions, of the southwestern United States.
Plants: A perennial rounded, heavily branched shrub 8–24″ (20–60 cm) around.
Leaves: linear or lanceolate, with spiny tips and edges. Leaves are ⅞–4″ (2.5–10 cm) long, with hairy and glandular surfaces.
Flowers: Plants have as many as 20 composite flowers. Each peduncle or flower-bearing stem is 3–10″ (8–25 cm). Phyllaries making up the cuplike green structure under the flower are ⅛–⅞ ⨉ 1/32–1/16″ (5–25 ⨉ 0.7–2.5 mm). There are 25-60 ray flowers, each ⅜–1¼″ (1–3.3 cm) long; and 70-110 central disc flowers. Ray flowers are lavendar, light blue, or white. The overall flowerheads may be up to 2″ (5 cm) around.
Fruits: 1/16–3/16″ (3–6 mm), with pappus bristles up to ¼″ (9 mm) long. Each entire fruit is over ⅜″ (1 cm) long.
Habitats: In creosote bush scrub, saltbush scrub, and Joshua tree woodlands, below 1.0 mi (1.7 km) in elevation.
Online References:
The Jepson Manual (Xylorhiza tortifolia var. tortifolia)
5/3/2018 · Keys View, Joshua Tree National Park, California 
5/3/2018 · Keys View, Joshua Tree National Park, California · ≈ 6 × 4½″ (14 × 11 cm) 
5/3/2018 · Keys View, Joshua Tree National Park, California 
5/3/2018 · Keys View, Joshua Tree National Park, California · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9 cm) 
5/3/2018 · Keys View, Joshua Tree National Park, California · ≈ 4½ × 3½″ (12 × 9.3 cm) 
5/3/2018 · Keys View, Joshua Tree National Park, California · ≈ 17 × 12″ (42 × 30 cm) 
5/3/2018 · Keys View, Joshua Tree National Park, California · ≈ 4 × 6″ (11 × 16 cm) 
5/3/2018 · Keys View, Joshua Tree National Park, California · ≈ 4 × 4½″ (10 × 12 cm) 
| 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 | Xylorhiza | Woodyasters, from the Greek for “woody root” |
| Species | tortifolia | From the Latin for “twisted leaf” |
Xylorhiza tortifolia description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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