Senecio mohavensis

Senecio mohavensis is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Mojave ragwort. It is native to the deserts of the American southwest around the intersection of California and Nevada with Arizona, its distribution extending across the border into northern Mexico. It grows in sandy and rocky habitat. It is an annual herb producing a single branching erect stem up to 30 or 40 centimeters in maximum height from a twisted taproot. It is mostly hairless and green to purple in color. The leaves have lobed or toothed blades a few centimeters long, the lower on short petioles and those higher on the plant with wide bases that clasp the stem. The inflorescence is a spreading array of several flower heads filled with yellow disc florets. Some heads have tiny ray florets that may be tucked out of view within the phyllaries.