General: Desert Chicory (Rafinesquia neomexicana) is a spring wildflower with fairly large, white, daisy flowers with a small red center. The ends of each “petal” are square and notched.

Desert Chicory are fairly common components of the spring wildflower display along sandy and gravely washes and bajadas in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub) life zones.

Family: Sunflower (Asteraceae).

Other Names: Wild chicory, New Mexico plumseed.

Plant Form: Annual forb with white, daisy flowers

Height: To about 15 inches.

Stems: Flower stem long and lanky.

Leaves: oblong, 1-6 inches long, lobed

Flowers: Blooms in the spring. Typical daisy flower (composite flower head) with 1-5 heads per stem. Outer ray flowers with notched petals

Seeds:

Habitat: Dry, well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils on upper bajadas and moderate slopes in the lower mountains.

Elevation: To about 4,500 feet.

Distribution: California to southwestern Utah and west Texas, south into northern Mexico.

Comments: This species often grows up through overlying shrubs, using the shrub for support.