General: Odora (Porophyllum gracile) is a spindly subshrub with a big odor -- walk past it and you will hear about it from people behind you. The leaves are long and narrow, and the flowerheads have long sepals and rayless, white and purple flowers. The plant has the general color of purple.

Odora is a fairly common component of vegetation communities on dry, rocky places in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub) life zones.

Family: Sunflower (Asteraceae)

Other Names: slender poreleaf, Porophyllum caesium, junciforme, nodosum, putidum, vaseyi

Plant Form: Usually an upright, small, spindly shrub

Height: to about 2 feet tall

Bark:

Stems:

Leaves: About 1/2 to 2-1/2 inches long, narrow, linear, entire, glaucous

Flowers:

Seeds:

Habitat: Rocky slopes

Elevation: to about 4,000 ft

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

Comments: stinky!