Crepis vesicaria |
Crepis |
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beak hawk's-beard, weedy hawksbeard |
crépis, hawksbeard |
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Habit | Annuals, biennials, or perennials, 3–120 cm (taproots slender to thick, caudices swollen). | Annuals, biennials, or perennials, 3–120 cm; usually taprooted, sometimes rhizomatous (roots deep or shallow, woody or fibrous, caudices often woody). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stems | 1, erect to arcuate or decumbent (green or purple proximally), usually much branched, glabrate to hispid and/or tomentose, sometimes sparsely setose (setae black). |
1–20+, erect to decumbent, simple (sometimes scapiform) or branched, usually striate, glabrous or hairy, often densely hispid or setose (hairs often stipitate-glandular). |
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Leaves | basal and cauline; petiolate (bases clasping); blades oblanceolate to ovate, often runcinate, 10–35 × 2–8 cm, margins pinnately lobed to toothed (terminal lobes relatively large), apices obtuse or acute, faces usually hirsute (hairs sometimes only on veins) or glabrous (cauline sessile, bases auriculate, clasping, margins ± toothed). |
basal (often in rosettes) and cauline; petiolate (at least basal, petioles ± winged); basal blades mostly elliptic, ovate, or lanceolate to linear, or spatulate to oblanceolate, often lyrate or runcinate, margins entire, dentate, serrate, toothed, or pinnately lobed, lobes sometimes toothed; cauline usually present, lobed or entire, usually reduced in size and lobing distally. |
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Peduncles | not inflated distally, not bracteate. |
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Involucres | cylindro-campanulate (becoming turbinate or urceolate in fruit), 5–14 × 5–6 mm. |
cylindric to campanulate (sometimes becoming turbinate in fruit), 4–15 mm diam. |
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Receptacles | flat or convex, usually pitted, glabrous or hairy, epaleate [paleate, paleae narrow, thin]. |
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Florets | 50–70; corollas yellow (reddish abaxially), 6–15 mm. |
5–100+; corollas usually yellow or orange, sometimes white, pink, or reddish. |
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Phyllaries | 7–16, (reflexed at maturity) lanceolate, 10–12 mm, (margins green to yellowish), apices obtuse or acute (ciliate), abaxial faces tomentose and often stipitate-glandular, adaxial with fine, appressed hairs. |
5–18 in 1–2 series, lanceolate, equal or subequal, (bases becoming thickened and keeled, keels sometimes pronounced in fruit) margins green to yellowish, often scarious, apices acute to acuminate, abaxial faces glabrous, tomentose, or setose, sometimes stipitate-glandular, adaxial glabrous or with appressed hairs. |
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Calyculi | of 5–12, ovate to linear-lanceolate, glabrous bractlets 3–4 mm (reflexed in fruit, scarious). |
of 5–12, reduced, subulate to lanceolate or deltate bractlets in ± 1 series, mostly unequal, glabrous, tomentulose, or setose. |
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Heads | 10–20, in lax, corymbiform arrays. |
(erect) usually in cymiform, corymbiform, or paniculiform arrays, sometimes borne singly. |
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Cypselae | (monomorphic or dimorphic) pale brown or yellowish, fusiform, 4–9 mm, outer wider with apices attenuate (not beaked), inner gradually tapered, beaked (beaks 2–5 mm, ± equal to bodies), ribs 10 (narrow); pappi white (fine, soft), 3–6 mm. |
monomorphic or dimorphic, yellow, brown, green, red, and/or black, subcylindric or fusiform, terete or subterete, usually curved, apices tapered or beaked, ribs 10–20, sometimes spiculate-roughened, faces glabrous or hispidulous; pappi persistent or falling, of 80–150, usually distinct, sometimes basally connate, white to tawny, coarse to fine, ± equal (or outer shorter), barbellulate bristles in 1–2 series. |
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x | = 3, 4, 5, 6, 11. |
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2n | = 8, 16. |
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Crepis vesicaria |
Crepis |
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Phenology | Flowering Feb–Oct. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Habitat | Sandy clearings, hillsides | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Elevation | 0–300 m (0–1000 ft) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distribution |
CA; CT; NC; NY; OR; PA; BC; Europe [Introduced in North America; introduced, South America]
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North America; Eurasia; Africa [Introduced nearly worldwide] |
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Discussion | Native to the Mediterranean region of western Europe, Crepis vesicaria is recognized by its annual or biennial habit, pinnately lobed leaves, reflexed calyculi, tomentose and glandular phyllaries, and slender, long-beaked inner cypselae. It is polymorphic; subspecies are recognized in Europe. E. B. Babcock (1947) identified the North American plants as subsp. taraxaciflora (Thuiller) Thellung, which some Europeans (T. G. Tutin et al. 1964–1980, vol. 4) have listed as a synonym of subsp. haenseleri (Boissier ex de Candolle) P. D. Sell. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Species ca. 200 (24 in the flora). Crepis is generally recognized by the rosettes of coarse, often pinnately lobed leaves, erect heads, epaleate receptacles, calyculate involucres, yellow corollas, subcylindric or fusiform, ribbed cypselae, and pappi of barbellulate bristles. The taxonomy and evolutionary relationships of Crepis were studied by E. B. Babcock (1947) and his associates. Their work was thorough and important because of the effort to incorporate cytogenetic information in the evolutionary analysis. Extensive survey of chromosome number and karyotype indicated two major ploidy groups in Crepis, corresponding to New World and Old World species complexes. Of the 12 species of Crepis native to North America, 10 are polyploids with x = 11. The core diploid populations commonly occupy discrete ecologic zones and are thought to be entirely distinct from one another, yet they are interconnected by a continuous complex series of intergrading polyploid forms that are partly or completely apomictic (Babcock). The polyploids are of two forms, autopolyploids that are similar to the diploids, and allopolyploids that combine the characteristics of two or more diploid species. The allopolyploid forms of hybrid origin may exhibit the characteristics of multiple parental species and therefore are difficult to classify. Some of the heterogeneous apomictic populations, or groups of populations, have been grouped together and recognized as subspecies; those taxa are often difficult to identify and further study is clearly needed. Despite these difficulties, the subspecific taxa of Babcock were tentatively included in the present study. The Old World species are mostly diploid (n = 3, 4, 5, or 6). Babcock concluded that there was a progressive decrease in the chromosome numbers, from n = 6 to n = 3. Along with the decrease is a corresponding increase in chromosome asymmetry and reduction in chromosome length. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 19, p. 238. | FNA vol. 19, p. 222. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Cichorieae > Crepis | Asteraceae > tribe Cichorieae | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 805. (1753) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 805. (1753): Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 350. (1754) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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