There are several kinds of Coreothrogyne, some resembling Lessingia,
others Aster.
[Sidenote: =Woolly Aster=
_Coreothrógyne filaginifòlia_
=Pink, purple
Spring, summer, autumn
California=]
This forms a clump from one to three feet high, with many erect
stems, white with woolly down, at least when young, and crowded
with alternate, pale grayish-green leaves, thin and soft in texture
and covered with down. The flower-heads are an inch across, with
purplish-pink rays and dark yellow centers, and contrast rather
prettily with the pale foliage. In Yosemite this grows on rocky ledges
below five thousand feet and blooms late. It is common from Monterey to
Santa Barbara, blooming at almost all seasons, and is very variable.
[Sidenote: _Psilóstrophe tagetìna var. sparsiflòra (Riddellia)_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Arizona=]
These flowers do not look much like those of a composite, but give more
the effect of yellow Wallflowers. The plant is very attractive, from
one to two feet tall, with alternate, bluish-green leaves, most of them
toothless, and handsome clusters of lemon-yellow flowers. They are each
about three-quarters of an inch across, delicately scented, and usually
have four large rays, mixed with a few smaller and more irregularly
shaped, all much more like petals than rays and becoming papery in
fading. The picture is of a plant growing in the Grand Canyon.
[Sidenote: =Paper Flowers=
_Psilóstrophe Coòperi_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]
A pretty, compact, shrubby plant, woody below, about a foot high, with
tangled branches, pale downy twigs, and thickish, dull green, downy
leaves. The pretty flowers are an inch and a quarter across, with
an orange-yellow center and five or six, large, clear bright yellow
rays, twisted to one side and puckered at the base, turning back and
becoming papery as they fade. This plant is at its best in sandy soil
and is very effective in the desert. When fully developed it is very
symmetrical in outline, forming a charming yellow globe of flowers.
There are several kinds of Xylorrhiza, nearly related to the Aster
group and by some authorities regarded as Asters.
[Illustration: Woolly Aster--Coreothrogyne filaginifolia.
Psilostrophe tagetina--var. sparsiflora.