Do you know the Tahoka daisy? Some information about the beautiful flowers

It looks like a little sun with purple rays. This flower followed us in a camping trip through northern Texas. 

Tahoka daisy o Machaeranthera tanacetifolia in Palo Duro Canyon, Texas - Photo: Still Gravity.
Pretty flower, pretty foliage with hairy cover - photo taken in Palo Duro Canyon. 

"Discovered" in 1898 by the Tahoka Lake in Texas, this plant got a horrible name for science: Machaeranthera tanacetifolia. The combination of Greek and Latin means "swordlike anthers" with "fern-like leaves". The "swords" are the filaments and anthers of the flowers. 

Tahoka daisy is a better name. It's said that "Tahoka" means "fresh water" or "deep water" in an unidentified American Indian language. The plant also was known as prairie aster since 1832 - that's why I wrote "discovered" in 1898 referring to the use of the Tahoka name. 

These daisies love rocks and sand and dryness and the sun. Tough survivors of the West, the Navajo used the dried roots to easy nasal congestion. I couldn't find the recipe.

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