Flora of North America species comparison

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Carphephorus odoratissimus

vanillaleaf
Habit Plants 50–140(–180) cm.
Stems

glabrous.
Leaves

basal oblanceolate to obovate, mostly 9–50 cm;

proximal cauline well developed, gradually reduced distally, clasping, faces not gland-dotted.
Peduncles

glabrous.
Involucres

3.5–5 mm.
Receptacles

epaleate or partially paleate (paleae 1–2).
Corollas

glandular, lobes 0.8–1 mm.
Phyllaries

5–12 in 1–2(–3) series, oblanceolate, gland-dotted, apices obtuse.
Heads

in flat-topped, corymbiform arrays.
Cypselae

glandular;

pappus bristles in ± 1 series.

Carphephorus odoratissimus
Distribution
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Plants with strong odor of coumarin or vanilla; basal leaves usually more than 15 × 5 cm; midstem leaves broadly elliptic, margins often shallowly dentate, apices flared away from stems; primary head-bearing branches diverging from main axes at 10–20°; florets mostly 7–10
var. odoratissimus
1. Plants with slight or no odor of coumarin or vanilla; basal leaves less than 15 × 4 cm; midstem leaves narrowly elliptic, margins entire, apices appressed to stems; primary head-bearing branches diverging from main axes at 30–45°; florets mostly 10–14
var. subtropicanus
Source FNA vol. 21, p. 536.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Eupatorieae > Carphephorus
Sibling taxa
C. bellidifolius, C. carnosus, C. corymbosus, C. paniculatus, C. pseudoliatris, C. tomentosus
Subordinate taxa
C. odoratissimus var. odoratissimus, C. odoratissimus var. subtropicanus
Synonyms Chrysocoma odoratissima, Liatris odoratissima, Trilisa odoratissima
Name authority (J. F. Gmelin) H. J.-C. Hebert: Rhodora 70: 483. (1968)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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