Pyrrhopappus pauciflorus
species of plant
Pyrrhopappus pauciflorus, commonly known as smallflower desert-chicory, Texas false dandelion or Texas dandelion, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the southern United States and northern Mexico. It is a weedy annual found in prairies, clay soils and disturbed habitats such as fields and sidewalks.
Description
The Texas dandelion is a taproot that grows 6 to 20 inches (15 to 50 centimeters) in height. Its petals open in the morning and stay open through midday, and the plant typically blooms from March to May. When broken, the stem produces a milky sap. Seeds dry out to resemble dandelion puffs.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, "The upper leaves of Pyrrhopappus pauciflorus are pinnatifid with usually 2 or 3 linear lobes on each side and lower leaves that are usually pinnatifid, sometimes merely toothed late in the season. [It has] hairless, clasping, cauline leaves."
P. pauciflorus is similar in appearance to P. carolinianus but has trichomes on its stems, which the latter lacks.
Etymology and history
The scientific name Pyrrhopappus pauciflorus has many roots, with "pyrrhos" meaning fiery or red-colored, "pappus" referring to the unique sepals of Asteraceae.
“Pyrrhopappus pauciflorus” enters the record as species of plant. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Pyrrhopappus, pauciflorus and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Pyrrhopappus pauciflorus” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Pyrrhopappus, pauciflorus and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q15599159. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Pyrrhopappus pauciflorus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.