Schott’s pygmy cedar (= Peucephyllum schottii) is the only species of this very unusual genus. This plant is not a cedar, a fir, nor a pine. Rather, it is a member of the aster family, Asteraceae. Although I could not find anything about the fossil record of Schott’s pygmy cedar, I am including it in my blog, nevertheless, because of the apparent rarity of the plant. I detected this plant in the front yard of one of my neighbors.
Figure 1. Schott’s pygmy cedar in bloom (this plant is four feet tall).
Figure 2. When this plant is not in bloom.
This uncommon plant belongs to a monotypic genus (e.g., having only a single species). In its modern record, this plant is "at risk."
Its flowers consist of only yellow, disc florets. It has yellow/green needle-like leaves that produce rounded tufts of white, cotton-like material. The fruits of this plant are woody, bristly seeds.
Also known as “Desert fir,” “Desert pine," or "pigmy cedar,” it is heat tolerant and can persist through droughts. It prefers to live in full sunlight on dry rocky slopes, among boulders.
Although native to California, Arizona, Baja California, and Sonora in northern Mexico, it also is found in Nevada and Utah. I came across this plant while walking around my neighborhood. I was fortunate to have detected such an unusual plant, with its odd features.
It is a perennial shrub, that can be up to 9 feet in height. It is an interesting plant that normally grows only in desert environments.
Its genus name is derived from the Greek work for pine or fir. The tubular flowers of this plant are commonly visited by hummingbirds and/or small mammals (Southwest Desert Flora = a website, see below).
References
Southwest Desert Flora, https://southwesterdesertflora.com
Wikipedia, 2025.
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