Burke: Lapsana communis vs. Asteraceae

	Lapsana communis	Asteraceae
	common nipplewort
Habit	Erect annual, 1.5-15 dm. tall, the single stem with short, stiff, blunt hairs or nearly glabrous, the juice milky.
Leaves	Leaves thin, alternate, petiolate, with ovate to sub-rotund blade, shallowly toothed, 2.5-10 cm. long and 2-7 cm. wide, reduced, narrowed and less petiolate upward.
Flowers	Heads several in an open inflorescence, the peduncles pale and hardened next to the head; involucres 5-8 mm. high, with 8 narrow, sub-equal, firm, keeled bracts that remain erect at maturity; corollas all ligulate, perfect, yellow, about 13; pappus none.
Fruits	Achene 3-5 mm. long, sub-terete, curved, glabrous, narrowed at both ends.

	Lapsana communis	Asteraceae
Flowering time	May-July
Habitat	Disturbed areas including roadsides, wastelots, fields, and forest edge.
Distribution	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington, but more often west of the crest; Alaska to California, east across much of North America to the Atlantic Coast. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	[BONAP county map]
Origin	Introduced from Eurasia	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: OR Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Lapsana communis

Asteraceae

common nipplewort

Habit

Erect annual, 1.5-15 dm. tall, the single stem with short, stiff, blunt hairs or nearly glabrous, the juice milky.

Leaves

Leaves thin, alternate, petiolate, with ovate to sub-rotund blade, shallowly toothed, 2.5-10 cm. long and 2-7 cm. wide, reduced, narrowed and less petiolate upward.

Flowers

Heads several in an open inflorescence, the peduncles pale and hardened next to the head;

involucres 5-8 mm. high, with 8 narrow, sub-equal, firm, keeled bracts that remain erect at maturity;

corollas all ligulate, perfect, yellow, about 13;

pappus none.

Fruits

Achene 3-5 mm. long, sub-terete, curved, glabrous, narrowed at both ends.

Lapsana communis

Asteraceae

Flowering time

May-July

Habitat

Disturbed areas including roadsides, wastelots, fields, and forest edge.

Distribution

Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington, but more often west of the crest; Alaska to California, east across much of North America to the Atlantic Coast.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]