Malacothrix glabrata - Desert Dandelion

Malacothrix glabrata, the Desert Dandelion is one of the most common of the desert spring wildflowers. The Desert Dandelion grows up to a foot tall or a little more on a good year. Plants often start in the protective shade of a shrub and reach out for the sun. Malacothrix glabrata often only produces one yellow flower that could be less than half an inch wide on a tough year, but will be an inch or more on a good year. What the Desert Dandelion lacks in size it makes up for in numbers. Scatter Malacothrix glabrata seeds with the first significant Fall rain. Malacothrix glabrata is a fine addition to the Spring Butterfly Garden attracting the White Checkered Skipper, Great Purple Hairstreak, California Common Ringlet, Mormon Metalmark, and the Painted Lady Butterflies.