Soft western rosinweed facts for kids
Calycadenia mollis is a special kind of flowering plant. It's often called the soft western rosinweed. This plant belongs to the daisy family, just like sunflowers and dandelions! It grows naturally in parts of central California. You can also find a few groups of them further north.
Quick facts for kids Calycadenia mollis |
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C. mollis
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Contents
Discovering the Soft Western Rosinweed
Where the Rosinweed Calls Home
The soft western rosinweed is native to a specific area in central California. You can find it from Tuolumne County down to northern Tulare County. There are also some smaller groups of these plants in Nevada County.
This plant grows in different types of places. It likes the Central Valley and the hills next to the Sierra Nevada mountains. It's quite adaptable to its environment.
What the Rosinweed Looks Like
Calycadenia mollis is an annual herb. This means it grows from a seed, flowers, produces seeds, and then dies all within one year. It has a stem that stands upright and can grow up to 90 centimeters (about 3 feet) tall. The stem is covered in tiny hairs.
Leaves and Flowers
The leaves of this plant are long and thin, like lines. They can be up to 8 centimeters (about 3 inches) long. The longest leaves are usually found in the middle of the stem.
The plant produces several groups of small flowers. These flower groups are very sticky because they have many glands. Each group of flowers looks like a single large flower. This is called a flower head.
Each flower head has one or more ray florets around the outside. These are the parts that look like petals. They can be white, yellow, or red and have three small lobes at their tips. In the center of the flower head are many tiny disc florets.
Seeds and Reproduction
After the flowers bloom, the plant produces fruit. The fruit is a type of seed called an achene. The achenes that come from the disc florets in the center of the flower head have a special structure. This structure is called a pappus. It looks like a crown of about eight small scales. The pappus helps the seeds to spread, often by wind.
