General: Schott's Pygmypedar (Peucephyllum schottii) is an upright shrub or subtree with a stout main trunk and short, narrow, dark green leaves. The yellow composite flowers are formed of disk flowers only.

Pygmy-Cedar is a fairly common component of vegetation communities along rocky washes and rocky hillsides in the Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub) life zones.

Family: Sunflower (Asteraceae).

Other Names: desert fir, pygmy cedar, pygmy-cedar

Plant Form: Upright shrub or subtree, usually with a stout main trunk.

Height: Usually 4-5 feet, to 10-feet tall.

Bark: Gray.

Stems: Leafy, green.

Leaves: Alternate, linear, narrow, 1/2 to 1 inch long; thick, gland-dotted, shiny.

Flowers: Blooms December to May. Flowers solitary near the near of branches; disk flowers only (no ray flowers), yellow.

Seeds: Small achene (sunflower seed) with hairs attached to blow in the wind.

Habitat: Rocky slopes and rocky outcrops.

Elevation: To about 4,500 feet.

Distribution: California to Arizona, and south into northwestern Mexico.

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