Plants 2-10(-20) cm. Stems (1-)3-10, spreading to sometimes ascending; branches usually leafless between proximal forks, becoming purplish to black, glabrescent. Leaves linear to narrowly oblanceolate, largest 15-20(-25) × 1-1.5 mm, pliant; longest capitular leaves 2-5 times head heights, acute. Heads in glomerules of 4-10 in strictly dichasiiform arrays, ± pyramidal, largest ± 4 × 3 mm. Phyllaries 0 or vestigial. Receptacles obovoid, 0.4-0.9 mm, heights 1-1.6 times diams. Pistillate paleae (except innermost) 9-13(-17) in 2-3 series, vertically ranked, loosely saccate, incurved 20-60°, somewhat gibbous, not galeate, longest 2.2-2.7 mm, distal 15-25% of lengths glabrous abaxially; bodies cartilaginous, obcompressed; wings prominent. Innermost paleae ± 5, spreading in 1 series, bisexual and (usually) pistillate. Pistillate florets: outer 9-13(-17) epappose, inner (0-)1-2 pappose. Bisexual florets 4-10; corollas 1.2-1.7 mm, lobes mostly 5, brownish to yellowish. Cypselae: outer incurved, proximally ascending, distally erect, obcompressed, mostly 0.9-1 mm; inner densely muriculate; pappi mostly of 17-23 bristles falling in complete or partial rings, 1.3-2 mm. 2n = 28.

Flowering and fruiting mid Feb-mid May(-mid Jun). Seasonally moist clay flats, sandy drainages, coastal slopes, flood plains, rocky places, roadsides, Mediterranean to arid climates; 0-1000(-1400) m; Ariz., Calif.; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora).

Logfia arizonica is known from southwestern California to northern Baja California Sur to southern Arizona and adjacent Sonora (except Colorado River valley) and from the Channel Islands (Santa Catalina, San Clemente) and Angel de la Guarda, Cedros, and Guadalupe islands in Mexico.

Duration: Annual

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Forb/Herb

General: Diffuse to erect herb with slender stems 3-9.5 cm tall, slender internodes, purplish, usually 0.5 mm in diameter or less.

Leaves: Leafless between clusters of flower heads or 1 leaf between clusters; clusters small, compact, axillary and terminal glomerules, subtended by linear, oblong or narrowly oblanceolate leaves 1-2.2 mm wide, 3-12 mm long, acute at both ends, sessile, finely lanate-canescent.

Flowers: Heads ovoid, 2.5-3.5 mm high, outer bracts boat-shaped, silky-lanate without, glabrous and shiny within, margins hyaline-scarious, each one except outermost 3-6 subtending a pistillate epappose flower, back green beneath tangled wool, hyaline tip less than one-half as long as body; inner bracts bracteate, oblong, only slightly boat-shaped, glabrous or nearly so, white to stramineous; central flowers 4-7, perfect, glabrous, about 0.12-1.4 mm long.

Fruits: Cypselae, smooth, about 0.6-0.8 mm long, pappus bristles scaberulous, white, about 1.5 mm long.

Ecology: Found on gravelly slopes and plains, often in fine textured soils and low places from 1,000-2,500 ft (305-762 m); flowers March-May.

Notes: The taxonomy of this plant is under consideration. You probably know this plant as Filago arizonica. The globose flowering heads help to identify this genus, hence the name cottonrose.

Ethnobotany: Unknown

Etymology: Logfia is an anagram of the genus Filago, while arizonica refers to Arizona.

Synonyms: Filago arizonica, Oglifa arizonica

Editor: SBuckley, 2010

Plant: Annual, grayish, cobwebby to tomentose; stems generally several from base, spreading, forked, < 20 cm, generally leafless between lower forks, purplish to black, ± glabrous; central stem generally 0 or not dominant

Leaves: < 25 mm, simple, alternate, linear to narrowly oblanceolate, acute, flexible, grayish to green, cobwebby; uppermost generally 2 X heads or longer

INFLORESCENCE: primary inflorescence a head, each resembling a flower; heads disciform, in loose, ± hemispheric groups of 4-10, restricted to forks and tips of branches, longest ± 4 mm, ± 3 mm wide, grayish, largest groups 8-10 mm diam; chaff scales in 5 vertical ranks, longest 2.2-2.7 mm, body generally ± hard

Flowers: Pistillate flowers in 3-4 series; each flower subtended by a chaff scale; corollas tubular; Disk flowers 4-10, bisexual, not subtended by chaff scales; corollas 1.2-1.7 mm, lobes 5, generally brownish to yellowish

Fruit: Fruit: achenes, outer fruit ascending, 0.9-1 mm, ± bent, compressed front-to-back; inner fruit densely and minutely papillate, pappus bristles 17-23, 1.3-2 mm, falling in a ring

Misc: Locally or seasonally moist, generally clay soils; 0-800 m; Mar-Apr