Baileya pleniradiata – “Woolly Desert Marigold”

Also Known As: Woolly Marigold
Other Botanical Names: Baileya multiradiata var. pleniradiata
Family: Sunflower (Asteraceae)
Bloom Period: May-Jun
Form: Annual herb
Habitat: Washes and sandy flats
Leaves: Simple, pinnately-lobed, woolly; mostly basal, alternate on the stem
Translation: “Baileya” is named for Jacob Whitman Bailey (1811-1857), a professor at Westpoint who pioneered the use of microscopes in plant identification but who never visited the Southwest and so never saw this plant in its habitat; “pleniradiata” is Latin for “full-rayed,” which describes shallow lobes on the petals.
Notes: Compare with “Desert Marigold” (Baileya multiradiata): with this species, the petals are wider and shorter and the lobes on petals are less pronounced.
Native American Uses: The Western Keres rubbed the plant under their arms as a deodorant. The Jemez mixed it with clay for adobe, and included it in plaster.
Animal Associations: Leaves eaten by the Mojave Ground Squirrel. Larval food plant for moths including the Desert Marigold Moths. Dodson explains the intriguing larval stage of these moths: The adult lays a single egg per flower head. When the larva emerges, it closes the petals around itself with webbing, which, by shading the flower, prevents it from producing a self-defense chemical that causes blindness in insects that eat it. This shading also lowers the temperature and decreases the evaporation of moisture within the larva’s home, where it eats the seeds until mature.