How to Grow and Care for Pincushions

North America's pincushion flower (Chaenactis fremontii) grows in sandy and gravelly soil across the Mojave Desert, the northern Sonoran Desert, and similar regions. A member of the sunflower family, it is one of the most conspicuous spring wildflowers in that environment. It is a valuable source of food for desert tortoises.

Native to western North America, douglas' dustymaiden (Chaenactis douglasii) is a flowering plant species in the same family as daisies and sunflowers. Douglas' dustymaiden grows happily in areas disturbed by humans such as mines and roadsides. It is a beneficial plant for many different species of pollinators. Its vigorous growth habit can strangle out other, more invasive plants.

Esteve's pincushion (Chaenactis stevioides) is an annual or short-lived perennial plant that blooms from winter to summer with clusters of white flowers. The flower heads are round and covered with tiny flowers resembling a pincushion. Commonly found growing in desert areas in the southwestern United States.

Chaenactis carphoclinia, or pebble pincushion, is an annual herb growing an erect, branching stem up to about 60 cm in maximum height. The longest leaves are about 10 cm long and are usually divided into a few lobes. The inflorescence bears a few flower heads, each up to a centimeter wide.

In general, Chaenactis glabriuscula is an annual herb producing one or more mainly erect stems approaching 50 cm in maximum height. The branching stems are hairy and often cobwebby with fibers. The inflorescence produces one to many flower heads on a very long, erect peduncle.