Spineflowers
Botanical name: Chorizanthe
Spineflowers
Botanical name: Chorizanthe
Description
Spineflowers are small, squat, herbaceous plants with spiny-looking inflorescences of flowers. The flowers may be in shades of red or yellow to white. The bracts are pointed and sometimes tipped with a hooked awn, and the inflorescence often dries into a rounded, spiny husk. Spineflowers are found in western North America and South America. 
Species of Spineflowers
Brittle spine flower
Brittle spine flower is a member of the buckwheat family and thrives in desert habitats. It serves as a host for the White-lined Sphinx moth. The annual herb's name, Brittle spine flower, references the fact that the stems and branches of the plant can easily separate at the nodes.
Turkshead
Turkshead (Chorizanthe rigida) is an annual herbaceous plant that blooms in spring with yellow flowers. Commonly found growing in desert areas of the southwestern United States. It is green when plenty of rain is present but in hot summer months this plant turns into a dark skeleton of the plant it once was.
Diffuse spineflower
This flowering plant can be found in mountainous and coastal regions. The diffuse spineflower has a wide variety of appearance in height, colors, tips, and leaves, though you can look out for its white flower clusters that have yellow throats. Outside of two California counties, this plant is difficult to spot.
Douglas's spineflower
Douglas's spineflower are small, squat, herbaceous plants with spiny-looking inflorescences of flowers. The flowers may be in shades of red or yellow to white. The bracts are pointed and sometimes tipped with a hooked awn, and the inflorescence often dries into a rounded, spiny husk. Douglas's spineflower are found in western North America and South America.
San luis obispo spineflower
San luis obispo spineflower are small, squat, herbaceous plants with spiny-looking inflorescences of flowers. The flowers may be in shades of red or yellow to white. The bracts are pointed and sometimes tipped with a hooked awn, and the inflorescence often dries into a rounded, spiny husk. San luis obispo spineflower are found in western North America and South America.
Turkish rugging
This is a plant which is quite variable in morphology, producing small patches on the ground or growing erect to heights over half a meter. The leaves measure from just a few millimeters to about 8 centimeters long. Most of them grow at the base of the fuzzy green or reddish stem.
Fivetooth spineflower
It grows in many types of plant communities from desert scrub to woodland and sagebrush. This small plant grows a woolly erect stem up to about 15 cm tall. The inflorescence is a cluster of flowers surrounded by five hairy greenish bracts tipped with hooked awns. The flower is about 2 millimeters wide and yellow in color.
One-awn spineflower
One-awn spineflower are small, squat, herbaceous plants with spiny-looking inflorescences of flowers. The flowers may be in shades of red or yellow to white. The bracts are pointed and sometimes tipped with a hooked awn, and the inflorescence often dries into a rounded, spiny husk. One-awn spineflower are found in western North America and South America.
Pink spineflower
This herb grows erect to a maximum height near 1 metre. It is woolly in texture and most of its parts may bear a pink tint. The leaves are mostly linear in shape and they may occur along the stem as well as at the base. The longest may reach 5 cm.
Fringed spineflower
Fringed spineflower are small, squat, herbaceous plants with spiny-looking inflorescences of flowers. The flowers may be in shades of red or yellow to white. The bracts are pointed and sometimes tipped with a hooked awn, and the inflorescence often dries into a rounded, spiny husk. Fringed spineflower are found in western North America and South America.
Sonoma spineflower
Sonoma spineflower are small, squat, herbaceous plants with spiny-looking inflorescences of flowers. The flowers may be in shades of red or yellow to white. The bracts are pointed and sometimes tipped with a hooked awn, and the inflorescence often dries into a rounded, spiny husk. Sonoma spineflower are found in western North America and South America.
Monterey spineflower
Monterey spineflower are small, squat, herbaceous plants with spiny-looking inflorescences of flowers. The flowers may be in shades of red or yellow to white. The bracts are pointed and sometimes tipped with a hooked awn, and the inflorescence often dries into a rounded, spiny husk. Monterey spineflower are found in western North America and South America.
San francisco spineflower
San francisco spineflower are small, squat, herbaceous plants with spiny-looking inflorescences of flowers. The flowers may be in shades of red or yellow to white. The bracts are pointed and sometimes tipped with a hooked awn, and the inflorescence often dries into a rounded, spiny husk. San francisco spineflower are found in western North America and South America.
Narrow-leaf spineflower
Narrow-leaf spineflower (Chorizanthe angustifolia) lives up to its name. It produces clusters of pink flowers surrounded by spiny bracts that make the plant resemble a medieval pink mace. Narrow-leaf spineflower is listed as imperiled in California, the only place the plant grows.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Vascular plants Class
Dicotyledons Order
Pinks, cacti, and allies Family
Buckwheat Genus
Spineflowers 
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