''Malacothrix'' is a genus of plants in the tribe

Cichorieae The Cichorieae (also called Lactuceae) are a tribe in the plant family Asteraceae that includes 93 genera, more than 1,600 sexually reproductive species and more than 7,000 apomictic species. They are found primarily in temperate regions of the E ...

within the family

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

.Tropicos, Malacothrix DC.
/ref> They are known generally as desert dandelions or desertdandelions. Most are native to western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

although a few have been introduced to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. Several are found only on offshore islands in the Pacific.''Malacothrix''.
Flora of North America.

Phylogenetic analysis In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical data ...

demonstrates that ''Malacothrix'' is not

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

. Some of its species are related to '' Atrichoseris'', whereas a second group is more closely related to '' Anisocoma'' and '' Calycoseris''.Lee, J., et al. (2003)
Phylogenetic relationships among the primarily North American genera of Cichorieae (Compositae) based on analysis of 18S-26S nuclear rDNA ITS and ETS sequences.
''Systematic Botany'' 28(3), 616-26. ;Species # '' Malacothrix californica'' - California desertdandelion - CA

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur, is a state in Mexico. It is the 31st and last state to be admitted, in 1974. It is also the second least populated Mexican state and the ninth-largest state by ...

# '' Malacothrix clevelandii'' - Cleveland's desertdandelion - CA AZ UT

# '' Malacothrix coulteri'' - snake's head - CA NV AZ UT NM

# '' Malacothrix fendleri'' - Fendler's desertdandelion - AZ NM TX

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

# '' Malacothrix floccifera'' - woolly desertdandelion - CA NV # '' Malacothrix foliosa'' - leafy desertdandelion -

San Clemente Island San Clemente Island (Tongva: ''Kinkipar''; Spanish: ''Isla de San Clemente'') is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. It is administer ...

# '' Malacothrix glabrata'' - smooth desertdandelion - CA NV AZ NM ID OR

# '' Malacothrix incana'' - dunedelion - CA # '' Malacothrix indecora'' - Santa Cruz Island desert-dandelion -

Santa Cruz Island Santa Cruz Island (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Isla Santa Cruz'', Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''Limuw'') is located off the southwestern coast of Ventura, California, United States. It is the largest island in California and largest of the ei ...

# '' Malacothrix insularis'' - island desertdandelion - Coronados Island in

# '' Malacothrix junakii'' - Junak's desertdandelion -

Anacapa Island Anacapa Island ( Chumash: ''Anyapax'', meaning "mirage, illusion") is a small volcanic island located about off Port Hueneme in Ventura County, California. The island is composed of a series of narrow islets long, oriented generally east� ...

# '' Malacothrix phaeocarpa'' - Davis' desertdandelion - CA # '' Malacothrix saxatilis'' - cliff desertdandelion - CA # '' Malacothrix similis'' - twin desertdandelion - CA

# '' Malacothrix sonchoides'' - sowthistle desertdandelion - OR ID WY CO NM AZ UT NV CA # ''

Malacothrix sonorae ''Malacothrix'' may refer to: * ''Malacothrix'' (mammal), a genus of rodents * ''Malacothrix'' (plant), a genus of plants {{Genus disambiguation ...

'' - Sonoran desertdandelion -

AZ NM TX # '' Malacothrix squalida'' - Santa Cruz desertdandelion -

# '' Malacothrix stebbinsii'' - Stebbins' desertdandelion - OR CA NV AZ NM UT

# '' Malacothrix torreyi'' - Torrey's desertdandelion - CA NV AZ NM UT CO WY ID MT OR # '' Malacothrix xanthi'' -

References

External links

USDA PLANTSThe Jepson eFlora 2013
Asteraceae genera Flora of Northern America {{Cichorieae-stub