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Cooper's goldenbush

dwarf goldenbush, low goldenbush, rubber weed

Habit Plants 5–50 cm.
Stems

erect to spreading or recurved, green when young, soon becoming tan to brown, then nearly black when older, highly branched, twigs glabrous, glandular, usually resinous.

Leaves

ascending to spreading;

blades usually elliptic to oblanceolate, occasionally spatulate, 10–15 × 0.5–1.5 mm, mostly adaxially sulcate, margins entire, midnerves usually obscure to weakly evident, apices acute, apiculate, faces glandular, sometimes irregularly gland-dotted (in shallow pits), resinous;

axillary fascicles present, persistent.

Peduncles

0.2–5 mm (mostly ebracteate, glabrous).

Involucres

obconic, 5.5–7.5 × 2.5–4 mm.

Ray florets

1–7;

laminae elliptic, 3–4 × 0.8–1.3 mm.

Disc florets

4–8;

corollas 4.5–6.5 mm.

Phyllaries

22–30 in 4–5 series, mostly tan, lanceolate to elliptic, 2–6.5 × 0.5–1.2 mm, strongly unequal, outer sometimes herbaceous or herbaceous-tipped (body apices obtuse or truncate to retuse, appendages erect), midnerves not evident or slightly raised, slightly expanded subapically, (mostly margins narrowly membranous, entire) apices acute to acuminate or attenuate, mid often aristate to cuspidate, abaxial faces glabrous, resinous.

Heads

in congested, cymiform arrays (0.5–2.5 cm wide).

Cypselae

tan, narrowly oblanceoloid, 4–5.5 mm, glabrous or densely sericeous;

pappi tan, 4–5.5 mm.

2n

= 18.

Ericameria cooperi

Ericameria nana

Phenology Flowering summer–fall.
Habitat Arid rocky plains, desert mountain cliffs, crevices
Elevation 1300–2900 m (4300–9500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (1 in the flora).

Ericameria cooperi var. bajacalifornica (Urbatsch & Wussow) Urbatsch is known only from Mexico (Baja California).

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

Some populations of Ericameria nana exhibit extreme variation in leaf shape and in phyllary apex length and shape. Whether such variants represent distinct taxa remains to be tested.

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

Source FNA vol. 20, p. 56. FNA vol. 20, p. 61.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Ericameria Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Ericameria
Sibling taxa
E. albida, E. arborescens, E. arizonica, E. bloomeri, E. brachylepis, E. cervina, E. compacta, E. crispa, E. cuneata, E. discoidea, E. ericoides, E. fasciculata, E. gilmanii, E. greenei, E. laricifolia, E. lignumviridis, E. linearifolia, E. linearis, E. nana, E. nauseosa, E. obovata, E. ophitidis, E. palmeri, E. paniculata, E. parishii, E. parryi, E. pinifolia, E. resinosa, E. suffruticosa, E. teretifolia, E. watsonii, E. winwardii, E. zionis
E. albida, E. arborescens, E. arizonica, E. bloomeri, E. brachylepis, E. cervina, E. compacta, E. cooperi, E. crispa, E. cuneata, E. discoidea, E. ericoides, E. fasciculata, E. gilmanii, E. greenei, E. laricifolia, E. lignumviridis, E. linearifolia, E. linearis, E. nauseosa, E. obovata, E. ophitidis, E. palmeri, E. paniculata, E. parishii, E. parryi, E. pinifolia, E. resinosa, E. suffruticosa, E. teretifolia, E. watsonii, E. winwardii, E. zionis
Subordinate taxa
E. cooperi var. cooperi
Synonyms Bigelowia cooperi, Haplopappus cooperi Haplopappus nanus
Name authority (A. Gray) H. M. Hall: Univ. Calif. Publ. Bot. 3: 56. (1907) Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 7: 319. (1840)
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