Elephantopus elatus
Elephantopus
tall elephantsfoot
elephant's foot
mostly basal at flowering;
blades oblanceolate, 9–14(–20+) cm × 20–35(–45+) mm (including petioles), abaxial faces pilose to hirsute, adaxial sparsely pilose to hirsute.
mostly basal or mostly cauline at flowering;
sessile or petiolate, petioles ± winged (often clasping at bases);
blades mostly elliptic, ovate, or obovate to lanceolate, oblanceolate, or spatulate (rarely orbiculate), bases ± cuneate, margins usually toothed (rarely entire), apices obtuse to acute, abaxial or both faces usually resin-gland-dotted.
rounded-deltate to lance-deltate, 8–12+ × 6–8+ mm.
± cylindric, 1–3+ mm diam.
(1–)4(–5+);
corollas white or pink to purple, tubes longer than abruptly funnelform throats, lobes 5, lance-linear, unequal (abaxial sinus deepest).
8 in 4 decussate pairs, the outer 4 ovate, inner 4 lanceolate, all ± chartaceous, margins entire, tips ± spinose to apiculate, abaxial faces of inner 4 usually dotted distally with resin glands.
6–8 mm, ± densely strigose to villous, hairs (0.3–)0.5–1 mm.
± discoid, sessile, not individually bracteate, in clusters of (1–)10–40+ in corymbiform-paniculiform arrays 6–15(–25) cm diam. (each cluster subtended by 2–3 ± deltate bracts).
3–3.5 mm;
pappi 3–4 mm.
± clavate, sometimes ± flattened, 10-nerved or -ribbed, strigillose to hirsutulous;
pappi persistent, of 5(–6), 1-aristate scales (look closely for squamiform, gradually to abruptly tapering base of each arista).
= 11.
= 22.
Elephantopus elatus
Elephantopus
Species 12–15+ (4 in the flora).
Pseudelephantopus spicatus is sometimes treated as a member of Elephantopus.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Leaves at flowering all or mostly cauline | E. carolinianus |
1. Leaves at flowering mostly basal (cauline leaves much smaller or wanting) | → 2 |
2. Inner phyllaries 9–11+ mm; pappi 6–8 mm | E. tomentosus |
2. Inner phyllaries 6–8 mm; pappi 3–4.5 mm | → 3 |
3. Inner phyllaries ± densely strigose-villous with hairs (0.3–)0.5–1 mm; cypselae 3– 3.5 mm | E. elatus |
3. Inner phyllaries sparsely strigose or hispidulous with hairs 0.05–0.3(–0.5) mm; cypselae 2.5–3 mm | E. nudatus |
LA Plants
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
