Taxon Report

Palafoxia arida Turner & Morris var. gigantea (Jones) Turner & Morris

giant spanish-needle

Print Report

Taxon Summary

Palafoxia arida var. gigantea, commonly known as giant spanish-needle, is a annual/perennial herb in the Asteraceae that is found in California and elsewhere. It occurs within Desert dunes, growing at elevations from 15 to 100 meters. Palafoxia arida var. gigantea is ranked 1B.3, Plants Rare, Threatened or Endangered in California and Elsewhere; Not very threatened in California.

Classification


Scientific Name:	Palafoxia arida Turner & Morris var. gigantea (Jones) Turner & Morris
Common Name:	giant spanish-needle
Family:	Asteraceae
Element Code:	PDAST6T012
USDA Plants Symbol:	PAARG
Synonyms/Other Names:	Palafoxia linearis var. gigantea

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	annual/perennial herb
Blooming Period: Feb-May	Feb-May
Elevation:	15-100 (50-330)
General Habitats:	Desert dunes
Microhabitat:
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	1B.3
Global Rank:	G5T2
State Rank:	S1
State List:	None
Fed List:	None
Other Status:	BLM_S; SB_CalBG/RSABG
CRPR Changes:

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB


Total Occurrences:	6
Element Occurrence Ranks:
Excellent (A)	0
Good (B)	0
Fair (C)	0
Poor (D)	0
None (X)	0
Unknown (U)	6

Location


California Endemic: False
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Imperial (IMP)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
Grays Well (3211468), Grays Well NE (3211467), Midway Well (3211561), Acolita (3311512), Amos (3311513), Cactus (3211478), Clyde (3211488), East of Acolita (3311511), Glamis (3211581), Glamis NW (3211582), Glamis SE (3211571), Holtville NE (3211583), Ogilby (3211477), Tortuga (3311523), Yuma West (3211466)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB


Threat List Total:	1
EOs with Threat Listed:	Total EOs	% of EOs
	1	17 %
ORV activity	1	16%

Notes



Threatened by vehicles. See Contributions to Western Botany 18:79 (1933) for original description, and Rhodora 78:604-605 (1976) for taxonomic treatment.
Threats:

Taxonomy:

Selected References

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 7 February 2025].