Synonyms: (Lygodesmia wrightii, Ptiloria tenuifolia, Stephanomeria minor, Stephanomeria minor var. minor, Stephanomeria minor var. myrioclada, Stephanomeria minor var. uintaensis, Stephanomeria minor var. uintensis, Stephanomeria myrioclada, Stephanomeria tenuifolia var. myrioclada, Stephanomeria wrightii)
Size: 8 to 28 inches (20-70 cm), usually about 16 inches (40 cm) or so.
Growth Form:Forb/herb, subshrub; plants hairless (glabrous) with milky sap; thick woody root crown; stems 1 to 5, upright (erect) to spreading or ascending; densely to sparsely branched, branching into slender almost straight branchlets.
Leaves: Green; basal and stem leaves; basal leaves linear to filiform; leaf edges (margins) without divisions or lobes (entire) or toothed; stem leaves (cauline) much reduced and bract-like; leaves withered or dead at flowering; leaves hairless (glabrous).
Flower Color: White, light pink, light rose, light blue; ligulate flowers only; singles (solitary); fruit a smooth grooved tan cypsela with a pappus of 15 to 25 bright white (plumose) or feathery-like bristles.
Flowering Season: May or June to September.
Elevation: 1,000 to 9,800 feet (300-3,000 m).
Habitat Preferences:Stephanomeria tenuifolia has the widest distribution of any species of Stephanomeria; crevices in volcanic, granitic and sandstone outcrops, open rocky ridges and slopes, bases of cliffs.
Recorded Range: Narrowleaf Wirelettuce is found mostly in the west half of the United States in: AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, ND, NM, NV, OR, TX, UT, WA, WY and also native in BC, SK, Canada as well as Baja California and northern Mexico.
North America & US County Distribution Map for Stephanomeria tenuifolia as Stephanomeria minor var. minor.
North America species range map for Narrowleaf Wirelettuce, Stephanomeria tenuifolia:
Click image for full size map
Genus Information: In North America there are 17 species for Stephanomeria. Worldwide, The Plant List includes 18 accepted species names and a further 29 scientific names of infraspecific rank for Stephanomeria.
In the Southwestern United States: Arizona has 6 species of Stephanomeria, California has 11 species, Nevada has 7 species, New Mexico and Utah each have 5 species and Texas has 4 species. Data approximate, subject to revision.
Comments: Narrowleaf Wirelettuce is undergoing taxonomic changes and is also described as Stephanomeria minor var. minor. As with other species in the southwest, Narrowleaf Wirelettuce is one of several members of the genus Stephanomeria with similar form and dimensions of its stems and branches and it is often difficult to distinguish. Again, as with other species in the southwest region you can appreciate just how variable this species is when you note the numerous synonyms and vast geographic range.
Brownplume Wirelettuce, Stephanomeria pauciflora is vary similar to Narrowleaf Wirelettuce which is less woody at the base, has glands on the flowering stalk (peduncle) and the seeds have a pappus of white feathery-like bristles from top to bottom.
Narrowleaf Wirelettuce, Stephanomeria tenuifolia has small but attractive attractive flowers, the flowers and their seeds and plants may be visited by hummingbirds and/or small mammals including rodents and granivorous birds in search of nectar or food.
Beneficial Value to Butterflies, Honey Bees and Insects
Narrowleaf Wirelettuce, Stephanomeria tenuifolia has attractive flowers, the flowers and their plants may be visited by butterflies, moths, flies, honeybees and other insects in search of food and nectar.
Special Value to Native Bees
According to The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Narrowleaf Wirelettuce, Stephanomeria tenuifolia is recognized by pollination ecologists as attracting large numbers of Native bees. Click here for more information on their Pollinator Conservation Program.
Etymology:
The genus Stephanomeria is from the Greek word "stephane" meaning "wreath or crown" and "meros" meaning "division"; the references are a reference to the pappus on the cypselafruit.
The genus Stephanomeria was published by Thomas Nuttall, (1786-1859) in 1841.
The species epithet "tenuifolia" (tenuifo'lia:) with finely-divided, slender leaves; (tenui-:) prefix indicating the characteristic of being slender.
