Chrysactinia mexicana, common name Damianita daisy, is a species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Mexico and to the southwestern United States. It has been found in Texas, New Mexico, Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, México State, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz.Turner, B. L. 1996. The Comps of Mexico: A systematic account of the family Asteraceae, vol. 6. Tageteae and Athemideae. Phytologia Memoirs 10: i–ii, 1–22, 43–93.García-Mendoza, A. J. & J. A. Meave. 2011. Diversidad Florística de Oaxaca: de Musgos a Angispermas 1–351. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad UniversitariaBiota of North America Program 2014 county distribution mapStrother, J. L. 1977. Taxonomy of Chrysactinia, Harnackia, and Lescaillea (Compositae: Tageteae). Madroño 24: 129–139.
Chrysactinia mexicana is an evergreen subshrub up to 80 cm (32 inches) tall. It is branched, usually with one flower head per branch. Heads have bright yellow ray flowers and yellow or orange disc flowers. Achenes are distributed by the wind, much like those of the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale).
The species is sometimes cultivated as an ornamental because of its attractive flower heads and its aromatic properties.
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External links Photo of herbarium specimen collected in Nuevo León