Skeletonweed / Lygodesmia juncea

I don't get to see this wildflower very often, so it's always nice to come across it. We found this plant coming up from Weaselhead to near North Glenmore Park on 18 July 2012.

"The plant looks like a slender bare branch about six inches to a foot tall, but close inspection will reveal a few tiny needle-like leaves on the upper branches. Single pink flower heads about one-half inch wide appear at the tips of the branches. Each head contains five flowers. Skeleton-weed is a perennial from long taproots. Fruits are achenes bearing bristles to aid in transport by wind. Look for skeleton-weed in dry, light-textured soils. Native Americans in the Missouri Valley used a latex derived from skeleton-weed for chewing gum. Skeleton-weed is a member of the sunflower family (Asteraceae)."

www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/wildflwr/species/lygoj...