Achyrachaena mollis – Blow wives

Description One of the earliest wildflowers to bloom and set seed in the spring, blow wives are an integral part of low-elevation grasslands, sunny slopes and oak woodland habitat in the Klamath-Siskiyou region. Blow wives is the only plant in the genus Achyrachaena. It is an annual wildflower that blooms in April to early May and grows from 6″-1.3′ tall. Blow wives grows in sunny locations that dry out in the summer. It is a very drought tolerant species. The actual flowers are small and yellow and not very noticeable underneath the white scales (disk achenes) that are attached to the fruit that aid wind dispersal of the seed. The seeds develop quickly, opening into an attractive display that is sometimes mistaken for the flower itself. Blow wives are unusual in this regard, as they can be easily overlooked when in flower, but hard to miss when in seed. Blow wives do well in various soil types, including serpentine and clay. The name blow wives is used both singular and plural. Blow wives (Achyrachaena mollis) seed packets contain approximately 40 seeds. Seed Germination Instructions No pretreatment necessary. Best germination will be achieved if planted outside in fall through early winter. For more information about growing native plants from seed, please read through the information in our Seed Germination and Propagation Reference Guide.