Desert rock daisy

Laphamia intricata Brandegee, Bot. Gaz. 27: 450. 1899; L. megalocephala S. Watson subsp. intricata (Brandegee) D. D. Keck; Perityle megalocephala (S. Watson) J. F. Macbride var. intricata (Brandegee) A. M. Powell

Perennials or subshrubs, 13–35(–40) cm; hirtellous. Leaves: petioles usually 0 mm; blades linear, 3–8(–15) × 0.2–1 mm; margins usually entire, rarely 1–3-lobed. Heads (2–6) in tight, corymbiform arrays, 4–6.5 × 3.5–5.5 mm. Peduncles 1–10 mm. Involucres campanulate. Phyllaries 3–4, linear or lanceolate to oblanceolate, 5(–5) × 0.5–1.2 mm. Ray florets 0. Disc florets 24–36; corollas yellow, tubes 0.5–1 mm, throats tubular, 1–1.2, lobes 0.4–0.6 mm. Cypselae oblanceolate, (1.5–)2.2–2.8 mm; margins moderately calloused, moderately to densely coarse-ciliate; pappi usually 0, sometimes of 1–2 bristles 1–2 mm, usually plus crowns of cilialike scales, rarely callous crowns. 2n = 38 ± 2.

Flowering spring–fall (depending on rains). Limestone crevices, dry mountain slopes and canyons; 800–1700 m; Calif., Nev.

Perityle intricata has been treated as a subspecies or variety of P. megalocephala. Now that more collections are available for study, it is evident that this taxon should be treated as a species. The linear leaves, tightly aggregated heads on relatively short peduncles, and densely coarse-ciliate cypsela margins separate it from P. megalocephala with its broader leaves, loosely aggregated heads on longer peduncles, and short-hairy cypsela margins. Where the two distributions overlap (southern Nye County), they are reported to appear distinct in the field, with P. intricata occurring at lower elevations than P. megalocephala.