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Achyrachaena mollis
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Blow Wives
( Achyrachaena mollis )
Achyrachaena mollis
More Photos at CalPhotos
More Info at Jepson eFlora
Calflora
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6 Nurseries Carry This Plant
About Blow Wives (Achyrachaena mollis)
6 Nurseries Carry This Plant
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The annual herb
Achyrachaena mollis
bears the common name blow-wives, which is both singular and plural. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Achyrachaena. It is a flower which grows to approximately one foot in height on a strong, straight stem. Atop the stem is a large, rounded bud which opens into a spherical cluster of flowers. The actual flowers are small and yellow and nearly invisible behind the showy fruits, which extend shiny bright white scales which look like long rectangular flower petals. These silky white scales catch the wind, which allows the single-seeded fruits to be dispersed. The plant is common in low-elevation hills and grasslands all over California, and into southern Oregon and northern Baja California. Blow-wives has some invasive potential, but is not known as one of the more troublesome weeds.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Annual herb
Size
1 - 1.3 ft tall
Flower Color
White
Flowering Season
Spring
Landscaping Information
Sun
Full Sun
Moisture
Low
Nurseries
Carried by 6
Sunset Zones
?
7*, 8*, 9*, 10, 11, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*
Natural Setting
Site Type
Grassy places
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 7.4" - 86.4", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 2.03", Coldest Month: 22.1" - 57.1", Hottest Month: 45.2" - 80.4", Humidity: 0.45" - 27.46", Elevation: 4" - 6126"
Alternative Names
Common Names
: Blow-wives, Soft Blow Wives
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Blow Wives
Achyrachaena mollis
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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