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Gutierrezia sarothrae (Broom Snakeweed)
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

Semi-desert, foothills. Openings, roadsides. Summer, fall.
Big Spring Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, September 10, 2005.

Gutierrezia sarothrae and Gutierrezia microcephala might be confused with Petradoria pumila which also puts on a massive display of yellow clusters of flowers, but the latter usually blooms earlier in June and July, is not woody, is shorter in less rounded clusters, and is more golden.

 

 Gutierrezia sarothrae (Broom Snakeweed)
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

Semi-desert, foothills. Openings, roadsides. Summer, fall.
Big Spring Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, September 10, 2005.

Multiple, leaning stems give rise to a rounded symmetrical crown which is densely covered with bright golden yellow small flowers.  In Canyon Country the golden glow contrasts strikingly with the rich orange soils and dark black/brown of the Cryptobiotic Soil Crust, the community of lichens and cyanobacteria so fragile, beautiful, and common in Canyon Country.