Broom Snakeweed

Gutierrezia sarothrae (Pursh) Britt. & Rusby

Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

▲ ▼ pre-flowering plants

▲ ▼ pre-flowering plants in range area

▲ ▼ mature, flowering plants

▲ ▼ flowers/inflorescences

▲ ▼ post-flowering plants in range area

Gutierrezia sarothrae (Pursh) Britt. & Rusby, Broom Snakeweed: (Bayer Code: GUESA; US Code GUSA2)

U.S. native simple perennial with stout rootstock and sometimes woody stem base that grows 6-24 inches tall and equally wide or wider with much branching; branches are thin, green to brown, usually hairless, but can have a few stiff hairs
Leaves are linear, often folded in half length-wise, with smooth margins, and glandular dots that make the leaves feel sticky
Head inflorescences are in clusters at tips of stems; individual heads are about 1/8 to 1/4 inch diameter, with 3-8 yellow ray florets (“petals") and 2-6 yellow disk florets; flowers mid-summer through autumn
Bracts below the inflorescence are tan with glossy green tips, linear-lanceolate in overlapping rows
Found in dry prairies, rangeland in western U.S.
Toxic if grazed, but usually avoided, which is why it can develop high population numbers in overgrazed rangeland/pastures
Similar-looking common broomweed, prairie broomweed (Amphiachyris dracunculoides) is an annual weed, and usually has a single upright stem holding the much-branched upper portion of the plant, so that it looks tree-like; the leaves and flowers of both plants are similar