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western-daisy

eastern western-daisy, entireleaf western daisy

Habit Annuals, biennials, or perennials, 5–50 cm (with taproots or fibrous roots). Annuals (biennials?), usually fibrous-rooted.
Stems

erect to decumbent, usually branched throughout, sparsely to densely strigose to hirsuto-pilose.

usually 1, erect to decumbent-ascending.

Leaves

basal and cauline; alternate; mostly petiolate;

blades 1-nerved, spatulate-obovate (proximal) or narrower, 1–8(–12) cm (some clasping to subclasping), margins usually entire, sometimes toothed, faces glabrous or strigose.

basal and proximal cauline 30–60 × 7–22 mm.

Involucres

campanulate or hemispheric, (3.5–8 ×) 4–8 mm.

3.5–6 mm.

Receptacles

conic, pitted, epaleate.

Ray florets

10–65(–85), pistillate, fertile;

corollas abaxially drying white or with blue to purplish blue midstripe, adaxially white.

(8–)16–26;

corolla laminae white, occasionally drying with bluish midstripe abaxially, (6–)8–17 mm.

Disc floret(s)

25–200[–250], bisexual, fertile;

corollas yellow, tubes much shorter than tubular-funnelform throats, lobes 5, spreading, deltate;

style-branch appendages lanceolate-acute.

corollas 2.5–3.7 mm.

Phyllaries

15–30 in 2(–3) series, appressed, midnerves inconspicuous, broadly oblanceolate to linear-lanceolate, subequal, thin-herbaceous, margins often hyaline, faces glabrous or strigose.

Heads

radiate, borne singly (usually on long, leafless or bracteate peduncles).

Cypselae

(brownish) obovoid to oblanceoloid-obovoid, compressed, 2-nerved (nerves marginal, usually thin, sometimes thick), faces smooth, striate, or papillate-pebbly, and glabrous or glochidiate-hairy;

pappi 0 or coroniform (of setae or scales to 0.1 mm).

(1.4–)1.6–2(–2.2) × 0.9–1.1 mm, faces minutely papillate-pebbly, linear striations barely discernible, usually glabrous, sometimes sparsely glochidiate-hairy distally.

x

= 3, 4, 5.

2n

= 8.

Astranthium

Astranthium integrifolium

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun(–Jul).
Habitat Rocky (limestone) banks and ridges, alluvial fields, stream banks and terraces, open juniper woods, glades, roadsides
Elevation 50–300 m (200–1000 ft)
Distribution
from USDA
c United States; Mexico
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; GA; KY; MS; TN
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species 12 (3 in the flora).

Astranthium is characterized by its herbaceous habit, heads borne singly on long peduncles, subequal phyllaries in 2–3 series, conic receptacles, white or blue rays, tubular disc corollas, and flattened, papillate cypselae with coroniform or no pappi. Apically glochidiate cypsela hairs have each apical cell abruptly reflexed in opposite directions. The species are separated by small but consistent morphologic differences, often accompanied by differences in chromosome number. All but three of the species are known only from Mexico (D. C. D. De Jong 1965; J. Rzedowski 1983).

Vegetatively and florally, Astranthium is similar to the monotypic Dichaetophora, which has the same chromosome number (2n = 6) as northern species of Astranthium. Epappose species of Erigeron may be superficially similar to Astranthium (D. C. D. De Jong and G. L. Nesom 1982); they are distantly related.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Plants fibrous-rooted; cypsela faces glabrous or glochidiate-hairy only distally
A. integrifolium
1. Plants taprooted; cypsela faces uniformly glochidiate-hairy
→ 2
2. Ray florets (7–)13–24; disc corollas 2–3 mm; cypselae 1–1.6 × 0.6–0.8 mm, faces minutely striate, otherwise nearly smooth, rarely papillate-pebbly
A. ciliatum
2. Ray florets 18–35; disc corollas 3.2–3.8 mm; cypselae 1.4–2.1 × 0.7–1.2 mm, faces minutely, glandular-papillate-pebbly
A. robustum
Source FNA vol. 20, p. 203. Author: Guy L. Nesom. FNA vol. 20, p. 204.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Astereae Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Astranthium
Sibling taxa
A. ciliatum, A. robustum
Subordinate taxa
A. ciliatum, A. integrifolium, A. robustum
Synonyms Bellis integrifolia
Name authority Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 7: 312. (1840) (Michaux) Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 7: 312. (1840)
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