Encelia frutescens
Littleleaf Brittlebush, Button Brittlebush
Oʼodham[unknown]
Description
Encelia frutescens is a small, sparsely foliated shrub that is leafless much of the year but has small, oval green leaves during Spring and occasionally during the Monsoon. Small yellow flowers produce large amounts of large seeds and provide an important food source for birds and rodents. This species grows in sandy and gravelly soils between 2500 and 4000 ft elevation. This species differs from its close relative, Encelia farinosa, in producing only a cone flower, whereas E. farinosa has the disk+ray flower structure typical of the Compositeae.
