Slender goldenweed facts for kids

Xanthisma gracile is a type of flowering plant. It is an annual plant, meaning it grows, flowers, and dies within one year. This plant belongs to the Asteraceae family, which is also known as the aster or sunflower family. People often call it slender goldenweed or annual bristleweed.

Where it Grows: Range and Habitat

This plant is found naturally in the southwestern United States and the northern parts of Mexico. It likes to grow in dry places like deserts and high, flat areas called plateaus.

How it Grows: Growth Pattern

Xanthisma gracile is a herb. This means it has soft, green stems instead of woody ones. It can grow straight up to about 45 centimeters (about 1.5 feet) tall. Its stems often have small, stiff hairs, making it feel a bit bristly.

Leaves and Stems

The leaves of this plant are usually shaped like an oval or a long oval. They are about 1 to 3 centimeters long. The edges of the leaves are often divided into small sections or teeth. Each of these sections or teeth usually has a tiny, stiff bristle at its tip.

Flowers and Fruit

The plant produces one or more flower heads. These are not single flowers, but clusters of many tiny flowers that look like one big flower. Each flower head is surrounded by special leaf-like structures called bracts, which are pointed and have rough hairs.

The center of the flower head is filled with many small, yellow disc florets. Around the edge, there are 16 to 18 yellow ray florets. These ray florets are like the "petals" you see on a sunflower, and they are about one centimeter long.

After the flowers bloom, the plant produces fruit. The fruit is a small, woolly achene, which is a type of dry fruit that contains a single seed. It is only about 2 to 3 millimeters long. Each achene has a fluffy top called a pappus, which helps the seeds float away in the wind.

Plant Genetics: Extra Chromosomes

Xanthisma gracile is interesting because it has extra chromosomes. These are called B chromosomes. Unlike the main chromosomes, these extra ones don't seem to have any important genes that control how the plant grows or functions. Scientists are still learning about what these B chromosomes do.