Chaenactis thompsonii (non-techinical)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/144057-Chaenactis-thompsonii

Like Lomatium cuspidatum, this species is endemic to the Wenatchee Mountains on ultramafic (serpentine related) rock and has few observations, though it is not uncommon locally.

The plant usually forms a low to medium high clump (15 to 30 cm, 6 to 12 inches), with reddish stems bearing wooly green to gray-green leaves that look a little like a small fleshy fern leaf (pinnate), for example the second photo at https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/127744327. Leaves are wooly all over and the leaf stems are wooly as well.

The pink and white flowers are small and grouped into a cluster that looks a bit like a pincushion with pins sticking into it (actually protruding anthers), from which the common name pincushion flower (photo 3 at https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/51758114). It flowers late in the season usually in August, though earlier at lower elevations and when snow melts early.

Do not confuse with the much more widespread Chaenactis douglasii (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/62682-Chaenactis-douglasii), which looks generally similar but has bipinnate leaves (giving it a sort of ruffly look) and appears not to grow on Wenatchee serpentine soils.

Posted on July 22, 2022 06:06 PM by jhorthos jhorthos