Mojave Woodyaster

Xylorhiza tortifolia is a perennial herb or subshrub with branching, hairy, glandular stems that reach 30–75 centimetres (12–30 in) in height. The leaves are up to 6.5 cm (2+1⁄2 in) long and lance-shaped or narrow, with a spiny tip and spiny-toothed edges, usually with a surface of gray hairs. At the end of a long peduncle sits the inflorescence, a solitary flower head about 5 cm (2 in) across. The head has a base with long, narrow phyllaries which may be over 2 cm (3⁄4 in) long. The head contains up to 60 or more lavender, pale blue, or white ray florets which may be over 3 cm long. The bloom period is March through June. The fruit is an achene which may be over 1 cm long, including its pappus of bristles.

The flowering plant is native to the Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert, and Great Basin Desert ecoregions of the southwestern United States, California, and northwestern Mexico. It grows in arid canyons and bajadas/washes, from 240–2,000 metres (790–6,560 ft) in elevation. Habitats it is found in include creosote bush scrub, saltbush scrub, and Joshua tree woodlands.

The Havasupai used the plant for incense and fragrance, with ground leaves carried in the clothes and used as perfume by men and women to counteract body odors.