Plant Name
Scientific Name: Melampodium leucanthum
Common Names: Plains Blackfoot, Blackfoot Daisy
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Subshrub, Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert, Upland
Flower Color: White rays and yellow disks
Flowering Season: Spring, Summer, Fall
Height: To 18 inches (46 cm) tall
Description: The flower heads are 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm) across and have notched, white rays and yellow disk flowers that age to black at the base. The leaves are grayish green, opposite, and narrowly linear to lanceolate in shape. The plants form mounds to 2 feet (61 cm) wide.
Special Characteristics
Butterfly Plant – The flowers attract butterflies. These attractive, long-blooming plants are a good choice for a native xeriscape butterfly garden.
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: Melampodium L. – blackfoot
Species: Melampodium leucanthum Torr. & A. Gray – plains blackfoot
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