Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Stylocline micropoides is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names woollyhead neststraw, woollyhead fanbract and desert neststraw. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern areas in the northern states of Mexico, where it grows in desert habitat and other dry areas. It is a small annual herb growing at ground level with stems up to 20 centimeters in length. It is woolly or felt-like in texture with a coating of white hairs. The pointed leaves are up to 2 centimeters long and alternately arranged. The inflorescence bears spherical flower heads no more than a centimeter in diameter. The head generally has no phyllaries, or has small ones that fall away early. It contains several woolly white flowers.

Plant type

Annual herb

Plant communities

Creosote Bush Scrub, Joshua Tree Woodland