Gutierrezia serotina – Late Snakeweed

Gutierrezia serotina - Late Snakeweed

Gutierrezia serotina - Late Snakeweed

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Gutierrezia serotina

Synonym: Gutierrezia polyantha

Common Name: Late Snakeweed

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Growth Habit: Subshrub, Herb/Forb

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Desert

Flower Color: Yellow disks and rays

Flowering Season: Spring, Summer (late), Fall.

Height: To 1 foot (30 cm) tall

Description: The small flower heads are mostly borne singly and usually have 4 to 9 rays (petals) and 10 to 12 disk florets. The basal leaves are absent at flowering, and the sparse stem leaves are green, 1-veined, and linear to threadlike in shape. The stems are green, wiry, and glabrous (hairless).

The similar Broom Snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae) is also found in the desert, but it is a larger plant and has minutely hairy stems. Other similar Gutierrezia species are only found at higher elevations (in upland areas and in the mountains).

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae – Aster family
Genus: Gutierrezia Lag. – snakeweed
Species: Gutierrezia serotina Greene – late snakeweed

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map