Family: Asteraceae
An unusual, evergreen, conifer-like shrub (not a conifer at all but in the aster family) growing to about 4’ tall and a little bit wider, rare specimens are up to 9’ tall. Nectar-rich yellow flowers spring until June. The fruits are woody, bristly seeds with a pappus. This aromatic plant is covered in punctate glands. Rare in cultivation.
Full sun, moderate to low water with good drainage (not too much summer moisture), hardy to 20°F.
Peucephyllum schottii Gray has a long history of use by Native Americans for medicinal purposes. The plant was used in teas for various ailments including stomach aches, fevers, and headaches. It was also used as a compress to treat skin conditions such as rashes and blisters.
The genus, Peuccephyllum, is from the Greek peuke, pine or fir, and phyllon, leaf; the species, schottii, honors Arthur Carl Victor Schott (1814-1875), one of the naturalists of the Mexican Boundary Survey. Peucephyllum is a monotypic genus, there is only one species.
Photo by Matt Berger, iNaturalist
Peucephyllum schottii on SEINET
Found on rocky slopes, in various soils including granitics, limestones, sandstones, volcanics, in washes, and in creosote-bush scrub, below 4,500 ft. in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah; south into Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora).
Floral detail, photo by artemisiaxadderall on iNaturalist
Foliage detail, photo by Jim Boone, iNaturalist
A ripe pappus, photo by Fred Melgert / Carla Hoegen, iNaturalist
Typical shape of the plant, photo by Fred Melgert / Carla Hoegen, iNaturalist