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large flower brickelbush, large flower thoroughwort, large-flower brickellia, large-flower tassel-flower, tassel-flower brickellbush

hollyleaf brickellbush, pungent brickellbush, spear leaf brickellia, spearleaf brickellbush

Habit Perennials, 30–95 cm (taproots thickened). Shrubs, 20–50 cm.
Stems

branched, puberulent.

densely branched, glandular-puberulent.

Leaves

opposite or alternate;

petioles 10–70 mm;

blades 3-nerved from bases, deltate-ovate, lance-ovate, or subcordate, 15–120 × 20–70 mm, bases acute, truncate, or subcordate, margins crenate, dentate, or serrate, apices attenuate, faces puberulent and gland-dotted.

opposite or alternate;

petioles 0–3 mm;

blades 3–4-nerved from bases (veins prominent), deltate, lanceolate, or ovate, 10–50 × 5–25 mm, bases acute to truncate or cordate, margins usually sharply dentate or dentate-serrate, rarely entire, apices acute to acuminate, faces glabrous or strigose and minutely glandular-puberulent.

Peduncles

4–30 mm, pubescent.

10–70 mm, hispid to hispidulous and stipitate-glandular.

Involucres

cylindric or obconic, 7–12 mm.

cylindric to broadly campanulate, 9–15 mm.

Florets

mostly 20–40(–70);

corollas pale yellow-green, 6.5–7.5 mm.

40–90;

corollas pale yellow-green or cream, often purple-tinged, 6–8 mm.

Phyllaries

30–40 in 5–7 series, greenish, 4–5-striate, unequal, margins scarious;

outer lance-ovate to lanceolate (pubescent, margins ciliate, apices long-acuminate), inner lanceolate to lance-linear (glabrous, apices acute to acuminate).

24–33 in 3–4 series, green, 3–16-striate, subequal or unequal, margins narrowly scarious (apices acute to acuminate);

outer (often bright green, 4–16-striate) lance-linear, linear-ovate, or broadly ovate, inner (pale green, 3–4-striate) linear or narrowly lanceolate (often chartaceous, scabrellous, often glandular).

Heads

(nodding in flower and fruit) in loose, corymbiform or paniculiform arrays.

in open, paniculiform arrays.

Cypselae

4–5 mm, hispidulous to hirtellous;

pappi of 20–30 white, barbellate bristles.

3–5.5 mm, scabrellous;

pappi of 18–25 smooth or barbellulate bristles.

2n

= 18.

Brickellia grandiflora

Brickellia atractyloides

Phenology Flowering Jul–Oct.
Habitat Rocky hillsides, shaded forests, dry slopes, canyons
Elevation 1200–3000 m (3900–9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AR; AZ; CA; CO; ID; KS; MO; MT; NE; NM; NV; OR; TX; UT; WA; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; NV; UT; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

All three varieties of Brickellia atractyloides often intergrade and are not readily distinguished in some cases.

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

Key
1. Phyllaries: outer broadly ovate
var. atractyloides
1. Phyllaries: outer lance-ovate to lance-linear
→ 2
2. Phyllaries, outer: margins ± entire
var. arguta
2. Phyllaries, outer: margins dentate
var. odontolepis
Source FNA vol. 21, p. 500. FNA vol. 21, p. 494.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Eupatorieae > Brickellia Asteraceae > tribe Eupatorieae > Brickellia
Sibling taxa
B. amplexicaulis, B. atractyloides, B. baccharidea, B. betonicifolia, B. brachyphylla, B. californica, B. chenopodina, B. cordifolia, B. coulteri, B. cylindracea, B. dentata, B. desertorum, B. eupatorioides, B. floribunda, B. frutescens, B. greenei, B. hinckleyi, B. incana, B. knappiana, B. laciniata, B. lemmonii, B. longifolia, B. microphylla, B. nevinii, B. oblongifolia, B. parvula, B. pringlei, B. rusbyi, B. simplex, B. venosa, B. veronicifolia
B. amplexicaulis, B. baccharidea, B. betonicifolia, B. brachyphylla, B. californica, B. chenopodina, B. cordifolia, B. coulteri, B. cylindracea, B. dentata, B. desertorum, B. eupatorioides, B. floribunda, B. frutescens, B. grandiflora, B. greenei, B. hinckleyi, B. incana, B. knappiana, B. laciniata, B. lemmonii, B. longifolia, B. microphylla, B. nevinii, B. oblongifolia, B. parvula, B. pringlei, B. rusbyi, B. simplex, B. venosa, B. veronicifolia
Subordinate taxa
B. atractyloides var. arguta, B. atractyloides var. atractyloides, B. atractyloides var. odontolepis
Synonyms Eupatorium grandiflorum
Name authority (Hooker) Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 7: 287. (1840) A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 8: 290. (1870)
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