Facelis retusa (annual trampweed, "Kinugechichikogusa")

Japanese name: キヌゲチチコグサ （絹毛父子草）
Scientific name: Facelis retusa

[Overview]
An annual 20–25 cm tall, found along roadsides and on vacant lots.
The stem branches at the base and is densely covered with cottony hairs.
The leaves are simple and densely alternate, rising obliquely along the stem; they are oblanceolate, 1.5–4 cm long and 0.2–0.3 cm wide, with margins rolled toward the underside and tips that are pointed or truncate.
The underside of the leaves is densely covered with white cottony hairs.
There is no leaf stalk.
Flower heads are borne in spikes at the stem tips; they consist only of tubular flowers and are enclosed by an involucre.
The tip of the involucre is tinged with reddish purple.
The fruit is an achene with a long, silky pappus.

[History]
It was discovered in Sakai, Osaka, in 1992 by Shuji Uemura, and has become naturalized in the Kinki region.

[Notes]
It was named after its silky pappus.

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