Woolly desert marigold facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Baileya pleniradiata |
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Baileya
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B. pleniradiata
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The Baileya pleniradiata is a type of flowering plant found in North America. It belongs to the daisy family. People often call it the woolly desert marigold because of its soft, woolly look and where it grows.
This plant loves the desert! You can find it in the sandy areas of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It grows in states like Chihuahua, Sonora, Baja California, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada.
What Does the Woolly Desert Marigold Look Like?
The woolly desert marigold is an annual plant. This means it grows from a seed, flowers, produces new seeds, and then dies all within one year. It has a stem that branches out and can grow up to half a meter (about 20 inches) tall. The stem is a light gray-green color, sometimes almost white, and feels woolly.
Its leaves can be up to 8 centimeters (about 3 inches) long. Sometimes, these leaves might have a few small splits or lobes.
Its Unique Flowers
Each plant produces several single flower heads. These flower heads grow on a stem called a peduncle, which can be up to 10 centimeters (4 inches) long.
The center of each flower head is made up of many tiny yellow flowers called disc florets. Around these disc florets, there's a fringe of bright yellow petals, which are actually special flowers called ray florets. Sometimes, there are two or more layers of these yellow ray florets, making the flower look very full. Each ray floret can be up to a centimeter long.
After the flower blooms, it produces a small, sharply angled fruit called an achene. This achene is only a few millimeters long and contains the plant's seeds.
