Spiked western rosinweed facts for kids

The Calycadenia spicata is a type of flowering plant in the daisy family. It is often called the spiked western rosinweed. This plant grows only in central California. You can find it commonly in the grasslands of the Central Valley and the nearby Sierra Nevada foothills. It grows from Butte County all the way down to Kern County.

What Is the Spiked Western Rosinweed?

The spiked western rosinweed is an annual herb. This means it lives for only one growing season. It grows a stem that can be 20 to 60 centimeters (about 8 to 24 inches) tall. The stem is covered in tiny hairs and special glands. These glands make the plant feel a bit sticky.

Leaves and Flowers

The leaves of this plant are long and narrow. They can grow up to 5 centimeters (about 2 inches) long. Sometimes, the leaves in the middle of the stem are the longest.

The plant produces special groups of flowers called flower heads. These flower heads appear at different spots along the stem. Each flower head is surrounded by small, leaf-like parts called bracts. These bracts also have sticky resin glands on their tips.

Flower Head Details

Each flower head is both hairy and glandular. It has two main parts:

• Disc florets: These are small flowers in the center of the head. They are usually yellowish.
• Ray florets: These are the petal-like flowers around the edge. They are whitish and have three small lobes at their tips.

After the flowers bloom, they produce a type of fruit called an achene. These are small, dry fruits. The achenes that come from the disc florets have a special feathery or scaly top called a pappus. This pappus helps the seeds float away in the wind.