Taxon

Scabrethia scabra

 
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Scabrethia scabra - mule's ears, badlands mule's ears
Image: Cristina Salvador
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Common name: mule's ears, badlands mule's ears
Family: Asteraceae (Aster)
Synonym: Wyethia scabra
Distribution: Southwestern United States and Rocky Mountains
Habitat: Grassland, scrublands, sandy areas, woodlands
Hardiness: USDA Zone 5 (-20 to -10 °F)
Life form: Deciduous shrub/sub-shrub
Occurrence in New Mexico: New Mexico native plant
Growing Conditions: Mule’s ears occurs primarily on the western slope of the Rockies and the Intermountain West at elevations ranging from 3,000-6,000 feet. It grows on open, sandy sites, ridges, washes, among scrub and in juniper woodlands of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and southern Montana. In New Mexico, it grows in the northwestern mountains, foothills and plains and often forms colonies of hundreds or thousands of plants in the Four Corners region. It typically grows on nutritionally poor calcareous soils. It grows from a taproot and is very drought tolerant.
Description: Mule-ears forms clumps 2-3 feet tall and wide, from a woody base. It is generally a low mound of multiple upright stems - a mixture nearly white flower stems, light green stems from current growth, and dark, dried stems from previous years. The leaves and new stems are covered with short, stiff, rough hairs, giving the plant a sandpaper-like texture. The leaves are long and thin (up to 8 inches long and less than 1 inch wide), with prominent, light-colored midveins, and fine teeth along the edges. Single yellow flowerheads, about 4 inches in diameter, are borne at the tops of the stems. They have 10-20 wide, ridged rays up to 2 inches long. The bracts below the flowerheads (phyllaries) are narrow and up to 1 inch long, and are often reflexed downwards.
Links: SFBG Plant of the Month • Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN-Taxonomy) • SEINet • Wildflower Center - Native Plant Database

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