Description
Showy Townsendia is an annual to short-lived perennial herb with 1 to several ascending stems that are 5-15 cm high and arising from a simple taproot. Leaves are spoon-shaped, 2-6 cm long at the base, and reduced upward. Foliage is sparsely to densely covered with short, appressed hairs. 1 to a few stalked flower heads are borne at the tips of the stems. Each head has 3-4 series of narrow, overlapping, green or purple involucral bracts that are 7-10 mm long, 13-34 pink ray flowers that are 7-12 mm long, and yellow disk corollas that are 3-6 mm long. The hairy achenes are topped by straight, stiff bristles that are 1-6 mm long in ray flowers and 3-8 mm long in disk flowers.
Diagnostic Characteristics
Most of our species of TOWNSENDIA are low, nearly stemless plants. The only other species with stems greater than 5 cm long is T. PARRYI, which has blue to lavendar rays and involucral bracts that are 9-16 mm long.