Malacothrix platyphylla A. Gray, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 9: 214. 1874

Stems glaucous. Basal leaves gray-green, glaucous, often purple-tinged, especially abaxially, often adaxially mottled, 1–12 × 0.5–6 cm. Heads 1.5–3.5 cm diam. Involucres 6–10 mm. Florets: corollas 8–20 mm, inner with bases yellow or purple, much shorter than outer. Cypselae 4–4.5 mm. 2n = 18.

Flowering Feb–May. Dry desert slopes, valleys, and washes; 0–1400 m; Ariz., Calif., Nev., Utah; Mexico (Baja California).

Atrichoseris platyphylla grows in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts.