Zinnia acerosa – Desert Zinnia

Zinnia acerosa - Desert Zinnia, Wild Zinnia, Spinyleaf Zinnia, White Zinnia

Zinnia acerosa - Desert Zinnia, Wild Zinnia, Spinyleaf Zinnia, White Zinnia

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Zinnia acerosa

Synonym: Zinnia pumila

Common Names: Desert Zinnia, Wild Zinnia, Spinyleaf Zinnia, White Zinnia

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Growth Habit: Subshrub, Herb/Forb

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Desert, Upland. It grows in sunny, open areas.

Flower Color: White

Flowering Season: Spring, Summer, Fall. This common to abundant wildflower blooms twice a year, once in the spring and then again after the summer monsoon rains have arrived.

Height: To 1 foot (30 cm) tall

Description: The flower heads are 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide and have 4 to 6 broad, overlapping, white rays and small, yellow aging to brown disks. The leaves have sharp tips and are small, stiff, grayish green, opposite, and linear in shape. The plants are mounding and look like little shrubs.

The similar Rocky Mountain Zinnia (Zinnia grandiflora) has yellow flowers.

Special Characteristics

Butterfly Plant – The flowers attract butterflies.

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: Zinnia L. – zinnia
Species: Zinnia acerosa (DC.) A. Gray – desert zinnia

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map