Papalotillo
Guardiola platyphylla
Family: Asteraceae
Herbaceous shrub, growing to about 3’ tall and wide. Small white flowers spring through summer—in the sunflower family (Asteraceae) though the flowers are very atypical for an aster. Flowers are very nectar rich.
Grow in morning sun, afternoon shade, or full shade, in the upper elevations you can plant in full sun. Can be evergreen in our region, but cut back if plants get rangy. Moderate to regular water, hardy to at least 0°F.
This is a very good nectar plant with a very long blooming season, and can be found flowering almost anytime during warm weather.
Photo by Christian Schwarz, iNaturalist
Guardiola platyphylla on SEINET
There are 15 species of Guardiola native to Mexico and the southwestern United States. Guardiola is thought to be of Italian origins, for “M. le marquis de Guardiola”, while platyphylla means broad leaved.
Found in canyons, hillsides, and among rocks from 3,000-5,000 ft. in Arizona and south into Sonora, Chihuahua, and Sinaloa, Mexico.
Give this plant about 2-3' to spread. Photo by Richard Fray, iNaturalist
For an plant in the Asteraceae, guardioloa has few flowers within each involucre, photo by Joey Santore, iNaturalist