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dwarf goldenbush, low goldenbush, rubber weed

discoid goldenweed, rayless goldenbush, sharp-scale goldenweed, white-stem goldenbush

Habit Plants 5–50 cm. Plants 10–40 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.

erect to spreading, abundantly branched, twigs green when young, concealed by whitish, pannose tomentum, sporadically stipitate-glandular.

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.

ascending to spreading;

blades linear or oblong to oblanceolate (flat), 10–35 × 2–7 mm, midnerves evident (1–2 fainter, collateral nerves often present), (margins often undulate) apices acute to obtuse, usually apiculate, faces usually stipitate-glandular, resinous;

axillary fascicles absent.

Peduncles

0.2–5 mm (mostly ebracteate, glabrous).

3–15 mm (bracts 0–3, reduced, leaflike, whitish tomentose and usually stipitate-glandular).

Involucres

obconic, 5.5–7.5 × 2.5–4 mm.

obconic, 9–13 × 6–10 mm.

Ray florets

1–7;

laminae elliptic, 3–4 × 0.8–1.3 mm.

0.

Disc florets

4–8;

corollas 4.5–6.5 mm.

10–26;

corollas 9–11 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.

12–17 in 2–3 series, green to tan, lanceolate to oblong, 6–10 × 1–2 mm, subequal, outer herbaceous or distally so, inner mostly chartaceous, midnerves evident, (margins of outer often distally stipitate-glandular, of inner narrowly membranous, sometimes minutely ciliolate) apices acute to attenuate, abaxial faces stipitate-glandular.

Heads

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

borne singly or in cymiform to racemiform arrays.

Cypselae

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

pappi tan, 4–5.5 mm.

brownish, narrowly oblong to narrowly ovoid, 5–6 mm, villous;

pappi tan, 8.5–11 mm.

2n

= 18.

= 18.

Ericameria nana

Ericameria discoidea

Phenology Flowering summer–fall. Flowering late summer–fall.
Habitat Arid rocky plains, desert mountain cliffs, crevices Rocky, open or sparsely wooded slopes, often in coarse talus
Elevation 1300–2900 m (4300–9500 ft) 2500–3800 m (8200–12500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Ericameria discoidea is common in the Rocky Mountains.

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

Source FNA vol. 20, p. 61. FNA vol. 20, p. 58.
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. 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
E. albida, E. arborescens, E. arizonica, E. bloomeri, E. brachylepis, E. cervina, E. compacta, E. cooperi, E. crispa, E. cuneata, 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
Synonyms Haplopappus nanus Macronema discoidea, Haplopappus macronema
Name authority Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 7: 319. (1840) (Nuttall) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 68: 153. (1990)
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