General: Holy Dandelion (Glyptopleura setulosa) is a low-growing annual forb with overly large white flowers. The leaves are toothy with green margins.

Holy Dandelion is an uncommon component of desert vegetation in the Mojave Desert Scrub community on soils with high silt and sand contents. Around Las Vegas, look for this species northeast of town in Dry Lake Valley.

Family: Asteraceae (Sunflower).

Other Names: Keyesia, Glyptopleura marginata var. setulosa.

Plant Form: Annual.

Height: About 3 inches, but spreading to about 5-inches across.

Stems: None, total height to about 3 inches.

Leaves: To about 3-inches long, margins green (not white) with teeth towards the tips.

Flowers: Blooms in the spring. Flowers white; large for the size of the plant, to about 2-1/2 inches across. Ray flowers only, white.

Seeds:

Habitat: Desert flats with high mud content, sandy desert flats, rocky soil, arid grasslands, often in association with Creosote Bush.

Elevation: About 2,000 to 4,000 ft.

Distribution: Southern Nevada, eastern California, northern Arizona, and southwestern Utah.

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