Desert Zinnia
Zinnia acerosa
This watercolor illustration was made from a live specimen found near Superior, Arizona. March 14, 1992.
FLOWERS: What appears to be a flower with four to eight white petals is
actually a composite flower with large prominate white rays and several yellow
disc flowers. The flowers tend to bloom in late spring, April-May, and then
some more after summer rains. 
LEAVES: Elongate, nearly linear, mostly < 2 cm,
two or three leaves clustered at each node.
PERENNIAL : A slightly woody plant (subshrub) - crown is woody and
regrows year after year. Branches rarely reach more the
½ m tall.
UNARMED. No real spines or thorns, but the leaf tips can be a bit sharp
especially noticable as the folliage stiffens with age.
FRUIT: The flower heads each develop several seeds.
RANGE : Found at mid to upper elevations of the Sonoran Desert on rocky
slopes or wash banks. Also ranges prominately into the Chihuahuan Desert of New
Mexico, Texas and n. Mexico.