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- ›Achyrachaena
Blow Wives
Achyrachaena mollis
The only species in the monotypic genus Achyrachaena is the annual herb Achyrachaena mollis, which bears the common name blow-wives. The genus name is both singular and plural.
The plant is common in low-elevation hills, higher mountains, valleys, and grasslands across California from the coast to the Sierra Nevada, north into southern Oregon, and south into northern Baja California, Mexico.
From the article Achyrachaena on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
Achyrachaena mollis is a flower which grows to approximately one foot in height on a strong, straight stem. Atop the stem is a large, rounded bud which opens into a spherical cluster of flowers. The actual flowers are small and yellow and nearly invisible behind the showy fruits, which extend shiny bright white scales which look like long rectangular flower petals. These silky white scales catch the wind, which allows the single-seeded fruits to be dispersed.
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Achyrachaena mollis in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 56852.