Burke: Packera streptanthifolia vs. Packera pauciflora

	Packera streptanthifolia	Packera pauciflora
	Rocky Mountain butterweed, cleftleaf groundsel, Rocky Mountain groundsel	rayless alpine butterweed, rayless alpine groundsel
Habit	Glabrous, fibrous-rooted perennial from a short, woody base or rhizome, 1-5 dm. high.	Glabrous, fibrous-rooted perennial from a short, woody base, 1.5-4 dm. tall.
Leaves	Somewhat succulent, the basal ones with long petioles and mostly elliptic or sub-rotund blade, with course, rounded teeth or entire; cauline leaves few and reduced, becoming sessile on the upper stem but not clasping, about twice as long as wide, usually somewhat coarsely lobed toward their bases.	Somewhat succulent, the basal ones mostly elliptic-ovate to sub-rotund, abruptly contracted to the truncate base, with rounded teeth and a petiole; cauline leaves reduced and becoming sessile on the upper part of the stem, bluntly toothed or pinnatifid with blunt lobes.
Flowers	Heads several, involucres 5-7 mm. high; rays 6-12 mm. long, yellow.	Heads 2-6, rarely more, orange or reddish, rayless; involucre 6-8 mm. high, its bracts generally suffused with reddish-purple.

	Packera streptanthifolia	Packera pauciflora
Identification notes		The few discoid heads with orange or reddish disk flowers, along with the rather succulent leaves, should identify this species.
Flowering time	May-August	June-August
Habitat	Moist to moderately dry open areas and forest, from middle elevations to the subalpine.	Alpine and subalpine meadows and moist cliffs.
Distribution	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Yukon Territory to California, east to the Rocky Mountains and Sasketchewan. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to northern Washington, disjunct in California and northwest Wyoming, east to Northwest Territory and Alberta, also in eastern Canada. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	P. bolanderi, P. cana, P. contermina, P. flettii, P. indecora, P. macounii, P. pauciflora, P. paupercula, P. porteri, P. pseudaurea, P. subnuda	P. bolanderi, P. cana, P. contermina, P. flettii, P. indecora, P. macounii, P. paupercula, P. porteri, P. pseudaurea, P. streptanthifolia, P. subnuda
Web links	Local floras: BC, OR, WA Local Web sites: 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: BC, CA, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Packera pauciflora

Rocky Mountain butterweed, cleftleaf groundsel, Rocky Mountain groundsel

rayless alpine butterweed, rayless alpine groundsel

Habit

Glabrous, fibrous-rooted perennial from a short, woody base or rhizome, 1-5 dm. high.

Glabrous, fibrous-rooted perennial from a short, woody base, 1.5-4 dm. tall.

Leaves

Somewhat succulent, the basal ones with long petioles and mostly elliptic or sub-rotund blade, with course, rounded teeth or entire;

cauline leaves few and reduced, becoming sessile on the upper stem but not clasping, about twice as long as wide, usually somewhat coarsely lobed toward their bases.

Somewhat succulent, the basal ones mostly elliptic-ovate to sub-rotund, abruptly contracted to the truncate base, with rounded teeth and a petiole;

cauline leaves reduced and becoming sessile on the upper part of the stem, bluntly toothed or pinnatifid with blunt lobes.

Flowers

Heads several, involucres 5-7 mm. high;

rays 6-12 mm. long, yellow.

Heads 2-6, rarely more, orange or reddish, rayless;

involucre 6-8 mm. high, its bracts generally suffused with reddish-purple.

Packera pauciflora

Identification notes

The few discoid heads with orange or reddish disk flowers, along with the rather succulent leaves, should identify this species.

Flowering time

May-August

June-August

Habitat

Moist to moderately dry open areas and forest, from middle elevations to the subalpine.

Alpine and subalpine meadows and moist cliffs.

Distribution

Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Yukon Territory to California, east to the Rocky Mountains and Sasketchewan.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to northern Washington, disjunct in California and northwest Wyoming, east to Northwest Territory and Alberta, also in eastern Canada.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Origin

Native

Conservation status

Not of concern

Sibling taxa