Ivesia argyrocoma facts for kids

Ivesia argyrocoma is a special kind of flowering plant in the rose family. It's also known by its fun common name, silverhair mousetail. This plant is native to the San Bernardino Mountains in sunny California.

What is Silverhair Mousetail?

The silverhair mousetail is a small plant that lives for many years. It grows in a clump with fuzzy, reddish stems that spread out along the ground. It also has several hairy, tail-shaped leaves that stand up or sometimes droop.

Where Does it Grow?

This unique plant mostly grows in the San Bernardino Mountains in southwestern San Bernardino County, California. You can also find some silverhair mousetail plants in Baja California in Mexico. Scientists are still studying if the Mexican plants are exactly the same as the ones in California.

What Does it Look Like?

Stems and Leaves

The stems of the silverhair mousetail are usually about 10 to 20 centimeters (4 to 8 inches) long. Each leaf looks like an almost round strip made of many tiny parts, called leaflets. These leaflets are packed closely together along a central stem, which can be up to 8 centimeters (3 inches) long. The leaflets are green and covered in lots of shiny, silver hairs, which is how the plant gets its "silverhair" name! Most of the leaves grow from the bottom of the stem, but a few very small ones might appear higher up.

Flowers and Fruit

At the end of each stem, you'll find a group of one or more clusters of sticky flowers. Each flower usually has five green and red, hairy, triangle-shaped parts called sepals. It also has five smaller, white, oval or spoon-shaped petals. In the center of the flower, there are twenty white parts with yellow tips (called stamens) and several female parts (called pistils). When the flower is done blooming, it produces a tiny, smooth, brown seed, which is called an achene.