Shockley's Goldenhead
Acamptopappus shockleyi
Shockley's goldenhead (Acamptopappus shockleyi) is a perennial subshrub in the sunflower family (Asteraceae), native to the deserts of southwestern North America, particularly the eastern Mojave Desert in southern Nevada and southeastern California.
WIKIPEDIA
Description: This low-growing, mounded shrub typically reaches up to 18 inches in height. It features short, narrow, oblanceolate leaves with a rough texture due to tiny hairs. The plant produces bright yellow flower heads borne singly, each comprising both ray and disk flowers. The involucre (the group of bracts at the base of the flower head) is notably globose, with each phyllary (individual bract) displaying a large green spot.
BIRD AND HIKE
Habitat and Distribution: Acamptopappus shockleyi thrives in dry, well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils found in flats, washes, upper bajadas, and moderate slopes of the eastern Mojave Desert, White Mountains, Inyo Mountains, and areas of southern Nevada. It is commonly associated with plant communities such as Creosote Bush Scrub and Joshua Tree Woodland.
CALFLORA
Etymology: The species is named in honor of William Hillman Shockley, who was among the first to collect plants in the White Mountains.
WIKIPEDIA
In summary, Shockley's goldenhead is a distinctive component of the desert flora in its native range, contributing to the biodiversity of arid ecosystems in the southwestern United States.
This species is usually found at altitudes between 3,000 to 6,200 feet (910 to 1,890 m), where it commonly occurs in flats and washes of desert shrublands. Its flower heads are borne singly and have both ray and disk flowers, unlike Acamptopappus sphaerocephalus which has only disk flowers arranged in corymbose clusters.
It is named for William Hillman Shockley, a botanist well known for the first identified collections of plants of White Mountains. The contributions, in terms of flora, added by Shockley's goldenhead, will still survive in the unique Mojave Desert.
