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Sticky Snakeweed
Gutierrezia microcephala
  
About Sticky Snakeweed (Gutierrezia microcephala) 0 Nurseries Carry This Plant Gutierrezia microcephala is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names sticky snakeweed, threadleaf snakeweed, threadleaf broomweed, and smallhead snakeweed. It is a subshrub native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, and can be found in arid grassland and desert sand dune habitats. It can be toxic to livestock in large quantities, due to the presence of saponins and high concentrations of selenium. Gutierrezia microcephala is a small, resinous, perennial desert subshrub that is typically 20 to 60 centimetres (7. 9 to 23. 6 in) in height and less than 100 centimetres (39 in) in diameter. It is heavily branched, often causing it to be nearly spherical. New shoots and twigs are green to yellow in color, and older parts are brown and woody. The leaves are linear, threadlike, and alternate; 1 to 4 centimetres (0. 39 to 1. 57 in) long and 0. 5 to 2 millimetres (0. 020 to 0. 079 in) wide. Along with the leaves, the stem tissue is photosynthetic, giving the plant a high photosynthetic capacity. G. microcephala typically flowers July to October, but this can vary depending on the amount of precipitation. Gutierrezia microcephala, a native North American plant, is found throughout the southwestern United States (from California east as far as Texas and Colorado) and northern Mexico (from Baja California to Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and Zacatecas). It occurs in a variety of ecoregions, such as arid grasslands, chaparral, sand dunes, and oak or oak-pine woodlands. G. microcephala is primarily found in well-drained sandy, gravelly, or rocky soils, and is often found in intermittently dry creeks or on the adjacent slopes. It often predominates on shallow, rocky soil, where grasses are not well established.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Size
Size
2 ft tall

Flower Color
Flower Color
Yellow

Wildlife Supported
 


 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 7 likely * ) SHOW ALL
*
Hemieuxoa rudens Image
Hemieuxoa rudensHemieuxoa rudens
*
Cucullia pulla Image
Cucullia pullaCucullia pulla
*
Sonia vovana Image
Sonia vovanaSonia vovana
*
Prolita rectistrigella Image
Prolita rectistrigellaProlita rectistrigella

Landscaping Information
Natural Setting
Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 3.8" - 34.8", Summer Precipitation: 0.25" - 3.42", Coldest Month: 27.7" - 58.1", Hottest Month: 52.1" - 84.8", Humidity: 2.41" - 37.59", Elevation: 727" - 8194"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Threadleaf Broomweed, Threadleaf Snakeweed


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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