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cleftleaf groundsel, Rocky Mountain butterweed, Rocky Mountain groundsel

serpentine groundsel, Siskiyou butterweed, western ragwort

Habit Plants perennial, 20–50+ cm; caudices weak or stout, horizontal or suberect and fibrous-rooted. Plants perennial, 7–15 cm; caudices fibrous-rooted, relatively slender.
Stems

1 or 2–5, clustered, glabrous or sometimes sparsely pubescent near base and in leaf axils.

1, glabrous or sparsely tomentose.

Basal leaves

blades oblanceolate to orbiculate; thick; turgid, bases tapering to contracted;

margins dentate, dissected; entire, subentire or weakly lobulate;

surfaces usually glabrous, sometimes pubescent, petiolate.

blades ovate, oblanceolate, or spatulate, bases tapering, sometimes obtuse;

margins entire, subentire, or dentate, petiolate.

Cauline leaves

similar to basal, gradually reduced, petiolate or sessile.

lower similar to basal; middle and upper abruptly reduced and bract-like, sessile and clasping.

Involucres

campanulate.

cylindric;

bractlets narrow, red-tinged.

Ray florets

8 or 13;

rays 5–10 mm.

(8)13;

rays 6–10+ mm; deep yellow.

Disc florets

35–60;

corolla tubes 2–4 mm;

limbs 2.5–4 mm.

35–50+;

corolla tubes 2.5–3.5 mm;

limbs 3–4 mm.

Phyllaries

(8)13 or 21, 4–7+ mm, green;

tips sometimes anthocyanic;

surfaces glabrous.

(13)21, green;

tips red or dark red;

surfaces densely tomentose basally.

Calyculi

conspicuous.

conspicuous.

Fruits

1–2.5 mm, glabrous;

pappi 3–6 mm.

1.5–2 mm, glabrous;

pappi 5–6 mm.

Heads

2–20+; in corymb- or subumbel-like arrays;

peduncles glabrous or sparsely tomentose, bracteate.

1–4+; in corymb-like arrays;

peduncles densely lanatetomentose;

bracts red-tinged.

2n

=46, 92.

=46.

Packera streptanthifolia

Packera hesperia

Distribution
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Forests, open meadows, and valleys in dry to damp loamy soils. Flowering May–Aug. 400–2900 m. BR, BW, ECas, Lava, Owy, Sisk. ID, NV, WA; north to Yukon, northeast to Saskatch­ewan, east to WY, southeast to NM. Native.

Packera streptanthifolia includes weakly defined “phases” that have been treated as distinct species or as varieties. Characteristics used to define those taxa often overlap and are difficult to distinguish; some phases grade into each other.

Serpentine, open woodlands. Flowering Apr–Jun. 300–1400 m. Sisk. CA. Native.

Until collections of this species were made in Del Norte County in California, Packera hesperia was known only from two counties in southern Oregon. It has since been listed as a species of conservation concern in California.

Source Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 324
Debra Trock
Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 323
Debra Trock
Sibling taxa
P. bolanderi, P. cana, P. eurycephala, P. flettii, P. hesperia, P. macounii, P. porteri, P. pseudaurea, P. subnuda
P. bolanderi, P. cana, P. eurycephala, P. flettii, P. macounii, P. porteri, P. pseudaurea, P. streptanthifolia, P. subnuda
Synonyms Packera streptanthifolia var. streptanthifolia, Senecio cymbalarioides, Senecio leonardii, Senecio streptanthifolius Senecio hesperius
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