Growth Form:Forb/herb; slender green stems, few branches; plants often spreading out horizontally, then becoming upright; plants with fragrance, said to be spicy-scented.
Leaves: Green; note in photo that the leaves are dotted with glands; leaves arranged oppositely on stem.
Flower Color: Yellow; single flower heads; heads with both ray and diskflorets; fruit is known as a cypsela.
Flowering Season: June or July to October or November
Elevation: 3,000 to 6,500 feet (914-2,000 m)
Habitat Preferences: Sandy areas, rocky slopes, grasslands, mesas, pine-oak and pine-juniper woodlands, shrublands and adjacent to washes.
Recorded Range:Pectis filipes is relatively rare in the United States where it is found in only in AZ, NM and TX; Arizona has the largest population with smaller numbers in New Mexico and Texas. It is also native to northwestern Mexico in Chihuahua and Sonora.
North America & US County Distribution Map for Pectis filipes.
Genus Information: In North America there are 19 species and 23 accepted taxa overall for Pectis. Worldwide, The Plant List includes 93 accepted species names and a further 55 scientific names of infraspecific rank for Pectis.
In the Southwestern United States: Arizona has 9 species of genus, California and Nevada each have 1 species, New Mexico has 6 species, Texas has 5 species and Utah has 2 species. Data approximate and subject to revision.
There are 2 varieties in Pectis filipes;
Pectis filipes var. subnuda (AZ, NM, TX)
Pectis filipes var. filipes (Mexico).
Comments: Relatively rare in the United States, the largest geographic distribution of Five-bract Cinchweed in the United States occurs in southern Arizona. Smaller populations are found in the southwest corner of New Mexico and in three Texas counties along the Mexico border. Variety filipes is known only from Mexico.
Also see in Southwestern Desert Flora Manybristle Cinchweed, Pectis papposa.
Importance to Wildlife, Birds and Livestock
Pectis filipes small but brightly colored yellow and their seeds and plants may be visited by hummingbirds and/or small mammals including rodents and granivorous birds in search of nectar or food.
Beneficial Value to Butterflies, Bees and Insects
Pectis filipes small but brightly colored yellow flowers and their plants may be visited by butterflies, moths and other insects in search of food and nectar.
Etymology:
The genus “Pectis” (Pec'tis:) is from the Greek pecteo, “to comb,” the leaves of most species being pectinately ciliate, that is, fringed with hairs on the margin with narrowly close set divisions like the teeth of a comb.
