Ditaxis serrata

Kearney and Peebles 1969

Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: Annual or short-lived perennial, much branched and densely pubescent with stiff, coarse hairs; to 35 cm tall. Leaves: Broadly elliptic to oblanceolate, 13-34 mm, apex acute to obtuse, margins entire or with a few small teeth; leaves longer broader, greener, not as thick and less hairy during warm, wet conditions. Flowers: Racemes glomerate-congested in axils, staminate flowers 2-2.5 mm long with lanceolate-acuminate, pilose sepals and glabrous petals parley exceeded by sepals; sepals green 3.2-4 mm, petals obovate white with red-purple veins 1.5-3 mm; gland ovate-lanceolate .5 mm transparent-membranous, becoming yellow-brown and thickened with age; flowers throughout the year. Fruits: Depressed-globose capsule 3-4 mm wide, densely long-pilose. Ecology: Sandy and rocky slopes and along washes; 1,000-4,000 ft (305-1219 m). Distribution: s CA, s NV, AZ, s NM, TX; south to c MEX Notes: Distinguished by being an annual or perennial herb, with appressed, long, silver hairs all over; its leaves lanceolate, acute, with serrulate or entire margins. Appears similar to D. claryana but lacks the gland-tipped teeth on the leaf margins of that species. Ethnobotany: Unknown  Etymology: Argythamnia is from Greek argyro, silvery and the word for shrub, while neomexicana refers to New Mexico. Synonyms: Argythamnia neomexicana Editor: SBuckley 2010, FSCoburn 2014