Lapsana communis |
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nipplewort |
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Habit | Herbs annual, 15–150 cm, sap milky; fibrous-rooted. |
Stems | erect; leafy throughout, branched distally, glabrous or with scattered soft, white hairs. |
Leaves | ovate, 1–15+ × 1–10 cm; margins usually irregularly dentate; surfaces glabrous or lightly hairy; petioles often with 1 or more pairs of leaflets. |
Inflorescences | terminal panicle-like arrays. |
Involucres | narrowly ovoid. |
Receptacles | flat; smooth, glabrous; paleae 0. |
Florets | 6–15; bisexual; ligules 4–12 mm; well exceeding involucres, yellow; stamens 5. |
Phyllaries | 8–10; in 1 series with a few small outer; erect; lance-oblong, 3–9 mm; midribs thickened toward bases; tips acute; surfaces glabrous. |
Fruits | tapering toward bases and tips, curved, 3–5 mm; outer sometimes much longer than inner, pale brown, glabrous; ribs ~20; pappi 0. |
Heads | 5–50+, ligulate; peduncles sometimes minutely bracteolate. |
2n | =12, 14, 16. |
Lapsana communis |
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Distribution | |
Discussion | Forests, roadsides, disturbed areas. Flowering Jun–Oct. 0–1300 m. BW, Casc, CR, Est, Sisk, WV. CA, ID, WA; north to AK, northeast to Newfoundland, east to MA, southeast to VA; Asia, Europe. Exotic. This species is a common introduced weed of gardens and disturbed areas. |
Source | Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 299 Kenton Chambers |
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