Flora of North America species comparison

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Ericameria

Ericameria ericoides

goldenbrush, goldenbush, rabbit-brush

California goldenbush, California heathgoldenrod, heather goldenweed, mock heather
Habit Shrubs (trees in Ericameria parishii var. parishii), 10–500 cm. Plants 30–150 cm.
Stems

usually erect to ascending, rarely prostrate, fastigiately or intricately branched (bark typically tan to reddish brown, becoming gray, twigs usually green to gray or yellowish), glabrous or sparsely to densely hairy (often tomentose), often gland-dotted, sometimes resinous or stipitate-glandular.

ascending to erect, green when young, fastigiately branched, glabrous or sparsely hairy, resinous.
Leaves

(mostly persistent) cauline (often crowded, axillary leaf fascicles sometimes present);

petiolate or sessile;

blades (green to grayish; midnerves obscure to prominent, sometimes with 2 collateral veins), cuneate, elliptic, filiform, lanceolate, linear, oblanceolate, obovate, or spatulate (adaxially sulcate, concave, or flat), margins entire (sometimes undulate or crisped; apices acute to rounded or retuse), faces glabrous or sparsely to densely hairy (often tomentose), often stipitate-glandular, sometimes gland-dotted or resinous.

ascending to spreading;

blades filiform (terete or adaxially sulcate), 3–18(–23) × 0.3–1 mm, midnerves obscure, apices acute, often mucronate, faces glabrous or hairy, gland-dotted (in circular, deep pits), resinous;

axillary fascicles of 2–12 leaves, shorter than subtending leaves.
Peduncles

1–30 mm (bracts 4+, leaflike).
Involucres

campanulate, cylindric, hemispheric, obconic, or turbinate, (4–19+ ×) 2–18 mm.

subcampanulate, 5–8 × 2.5–4.5 mm.
Receptacles

slightly convex, pitted, epaleate.

Ray florets

0, or 1–18, pistillate, fertile;

corollas usually yellow (white in E. gilmanii and E. resinosa), (laminae elliptic to oblong, apices shallowly notched or toothed).

2–6;

laminae 4–6 × 1–2 mm.
Disc florets

4–70, bisexual, fertile;

corollas usually yellow (white in E. gilmanii and E. resinosa), tubes shorter than narrowly funnelform to campanulate throats, lobes 5, erect to spreading or reflexed, deltate to triangular;

style-branch appendages lanceolate to subulate.

5–14;

corollas 5.5–8 mm.
Phyllaries

8–60 in 2–7 series (often in vertical ranks), 1-nerved (midnerves obscure or evident, sometimes enlarged subapically and glandular) ovate, lanceolate, or elliptic, strongly unequal to subequal, outer often herbaceous or herbaceous-tipped, otherwise mostly chartaceous, (apices erect, spreading, or reflexed, acute or acuminate to cuspidate or obtuse), faces sometimes stipitate-glandular, often resinous.

16–24 in 3–5 series, mostly tan, ovate to elliptic, 2.5–7 × 0.6–1.5 mm, unequal, outer ± herbaceous or herbaceous-appendaged, mid and inner mostly chartaceous, midnerves raised, subapical resin ducts darker, ± thickened, expanded apically, (margins ciliate) apices erect, acute to acuminate or mucronate to cuspidate, abaxial faces glabrous or sparsely hairy.
Heads

radiate or discoid, borne singly or in cymiform or racemiform, sometimes highly branched and paniculiform or thyrsiform, arrays.

in cymiform to paniculiform arrays (2–9 cm wide).
Cypselae

(tan to reddish brown) usually prismatic, sometimes cylindric, ellipsoid, obconic, or turbinate, 5–12-ribbed, faces glabrous or sparsely to densely hairy, sometimes gland-dotted;

pappi persistent or tardily falling, of 20–60 whitish or tan to reddish, subequal, fine, barbellate, apically attenuate bristles in 1 series.

tan to brown, subcylindric, 2.5–4 mm (ribs 8–10), glabrous or hairy, more densely distally;

pappi off-white to brown, 5–7 mm.
x

= 9.

2n

= 18.

Ericameria

Ericameria ericoides
Phenology Flowering late summer–fall, occasionally in spring.
Habitat Sand dunes or sand hills along and near coast
Elevation 0–500 m [0–1600 ft]
Distribution
from USDA
w North America; n Mexico
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species 36 (34 in the flora).

Two species, Ericameria juarezensis and E. martirensis, are known only from mountains in northern Baja California, Mexico. The plants inhabit rock outcrops and dry, stony or sandy substrates of western North America. Some taxa are widespread and codominant in scrub communities of that region; others have restricted distributions. Systematic and phylogenetic investigations have resulted in the expansion of Ericameria to include certain taxa previously assigned to Chrysothamnus as well as taxa treated in Haplopappus. Except for E. laricifolia, taxa in Texas previously included in Ericameria are but distantly related and have been excluded from the genus.

In the descriptions below, short-stipitate-glandular refers to hairs with stalks less than 1/2 as long as the diameter of the distal gland, long-stipitate-glandular to hairs with stalks clearly visible, 1–3-times longer than the diameter of the distal gland.

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

Ericameria ericoides ranges from Los Angeles to Sonoma counties.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Phyllaries usually subequal (outer more than 1/2 or equaling or longer than inner; sometimes unequal in E. resinosa), entirely herbaceous and leaflike or wholly chartaceous (sometimes each outer phyllary with an herbaceous or chartaceous appendage)
→ 2
1. Phyllaries unequal, chartaceous or outer wholly herbaceous or with herbaceous tips or subapical patches
→ 15
2. Ray florets usually 1–18, sometimes 0 (in E. greenei)
→ 3
2. Ray florets 0
→ 9
3. Leaves gland-dotted (in circular, deep pits); heads borne singly; peduncles 20–70 mm (bracts usually 0); florets 23–78
E. linearifolia
3. Leaves resinous, gland-dotted (sessile), or stipitate-glandular; heads usually in cymiform or racemiform arrays, rarely borne singly; peduncles usually 0.3–20 mm (if longer, leafy-bracteate); florets usually 4–30 (15–40 in E. suffruticosa, a stipitate-glandular species)
→ 4
4. Stems and leaves stipitate-glandular
→ 5
4. Stems and leaves glabrous, tomentose, or gland-dotted (sessile or in pits)
→ 7
5. Phyllaries unequal (outer usually ca. 1/2 as long as involucres), outer herbaceous or herbaceous-appendaged, midnerves evident
E. watsonii
5. Phyllaries subequal (outer mostly longer than and overtopping inner), herbaceous or herbaceous-appendaged, midnerves (plus 2, fainter, lateral nerves) often evident
→ 6
6. Heads in congested, cymiform or racemiform arrays; disc florets 7–20
E. greenei
6. Heads often borne singly or (2–3) in (leafy) racemiform arrays; disc florets 15–40
E. suffruticosa
7. Disc florets 10–15; corollas (white) 6–8 mm
E. resinosa
7. Disc florets 4–14; corollas (yellow) 7–11 mm
→ 8
8. Ray laminae 6–12 mm; nw North America
E. bloomeri
8. Ray laminae 3–4 mm; s Utah
E. lignumviridis
9. Twigs resinous or stipitate-glandular (not tomentose, non-glandular hairs sometimes interspersed, never abundant)
→ 10
9. Twigs densely hairy (sometimes tomentose), eglandular
→ 12
10. Cypselae sparsely, evenly strigose (leaf margins crisped)
E. crispa
10. Cypselae glabrous, glabrate, or apically sparsely hairy (leaf margins flat)
→ 11
11. Involucres 12–15 mm; disc corollas 9.1–11.5 mm (style branches 3.2–4.5 mm); s Nevada
E. compacta
11. Involucres 14–22 mm; disc corollas 9.5–12 mm (style branches 4.2–5.2 mm); s Utah
E. zionis
12. Leaves stipitate-glandular
→ 13
12. Leaves glabrous or whitish tomentose (not stipitate-glandular)
→ 14
13. Leaves 2–7 mm wide; Rocky Mountains
E. discoidea
13. Leaves 1–2 mm wide; sw Montana, nw Wyoming
E. linearis
14. Heads in congested, racemiform or cymiform clusters or paniculiform or thyrsiform arrays (heads sometimes 1–4 in E. parryi var. monocephala); leaves sometimes densely gray, greenish, or yellowish tomentose, not silvery white
E. parryi
14. Heads borne singly or 2–3 in racemiform arrays; leaves densely, silvery white tomentose; Wyoming, adjacent Idaho (in E. parryi var. monocephala, single heads sometimes overtopped by leaves and phyllaries usually unequal; California, Nevada)
E. winwardii
15. Leaves cuneate, elliptic, filiform, linear, oblanceolate, obovate, or spatulate (flat), 0.5–16 mm wide
→ 16
15. Leaves elliptic, filiform, linear, oblanceolate, narrowly obovate, or spatulate (terete or adaxially sulcate), usually 0.3–2(–4) mm wide
→ 21
16. Leaves cuneate, elliptic, obovate, or spatulate, apices usually obtuse, rounded, or retuse (sometimes acute in E. cervina)
→ 17
16. Leaves elliptic, filiform, linear, oblanceolate, or oblong, apices acute
→ 19
17. Leaves gland-dotted (in pits); ray florets usually 0
E. cuneata
17. Leaves stipitate-glandular or gland-dotted (sessile), resinous; ray florets usually 1–8, sometimes 0
→ 18
18. Leaves 9–18 × 2.5–4 mm; ray florets 3–4; nw Arizona, adjacent Nevada, Utah
E. cervina
18. Leaves 10–30 × 4–12 mm; ray florets 4–9; mainly c, n Utah
E. obovata
19. Stems and leaves short-stipitate-glandular; leaves 10–35 mm; ray florets 1–8 (Grand Canyon, Arizona)
E. arizonica
19. Stems and leaves gland-dotted (sessile) or tomentose; leaves 25–80 mm; ray florets 0
→ 20
20. Disc florets 7–15; s California
E. parishii
20. Disc florets (4–)5(–6); Utah
E. nauseosa
21. Ray florets usually 0 (sometimes 1–2 in E. brachylepis)
→ 22
21. Ray florets usually 1–10 (sometimes 0 in E. cooperi)
→ 28
22. Phyllaries: midnerves mostly obscure, apices each bearing a subspheric resin-gland
E. teretifolia
22. Phyllaries: midnerves usually raised and visible along entire length, apices sometimes with elongate, raised (never subspheric) glands
→ 23
23. Outer and mid phyllary apices often cuspidate (bodies apically truncate or narrowing abruptly to bases of herbaceous appendages), tips spreading to recurved (phyllary apices long-attenuate in some varieties of E. nauseosa, then erect, not recurved, and stems densely tomentose)
→ 24
23. Outer and mid phyllary apices acute to acuminate or rounded (bodies apically tapering), tips erect
→ 25
24. Involucres 6–10 mm; Great Basin region
E. albida
24. Involucres 10–15 mm; n California
E. ophitidis
25. Young stems usually densely tomentose; leaves gland-dotted or resinous and gland-dotted (not in circular pits); phyllaries often in vertical ranks; disc florets (4–)5(–6)
E. nauseosa
25. Young stems usually glabrous, gland-dotted, resinous; leaves gland-dotted (in circular, deep pits); phyllaries usually in spirals (sometimes in ± vertical ranks in E. paniculata); disc florets usually 6–25
→ 26
26. Young stems black-banded or splotched (from fungal infections); phyllary midnerves not or slightly raised; desert, California, Arizona, Nevada, sw Utah
E. paniculata
26. Young stems without dark bands or splotches; phyllary midnerves raised and ± expanded distally; chaparral, California (E. brachylepis also disjunct in Arizona)
→ 27
27. Leaves 25–90 mm; heads in cymiform arrays, peduncles 1–15 mm (bracts 0–7, scalelike); florets 10–25
E. arborescens
27. Leaves 10–25 mm; heads in racemiform to paniculiform arrays,peduncles 3–20 mm (leafy or bracteate); florets 6–16(–22)
E. brachylepis
28. Phyllary apices (outer and mid) cuspidate, appendages squarrose or recurved, herbaceous (bodies apically obtuse to retuse; disc corollas white)
→ 29
28. Phyllary apices acute to rounded or apiculate to cuspidate, appendages 0 or erect, sometimes herbaceous
→ 30
29. Leaves narrowly obovate (sometimes conduplicate), 2–4 mm wide; Inyo County, California
E. gilmanii
29. Leaves filiform to narrowly oblanceolate, 0.5–1.5 mm wide; Idaho, Oregon, Washington
E. resinosa
30. Leaves sometimes gland-dotted (in irregular, shallow pits), resinous; mid phyllary apices often aristate to cuspidate, appendages erect (bodies apically obtuse or truncate to retuse, midnerves not evident or slightly raised, slightly expanded subapically); desert mountains, e California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah
E. nana
30. Leaves gland-dotted (in circular, deep pits), often resinous; mid phyllary apices usually acute, obtuse, or rounded, if aristate to cuspidate, appendages erect (arising from acute, obtuse, or rounded body apices, midnerves raised and subapically expanded, usually each with conspicuous, subapical gland); Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, w Texas, Utah
→ 31
31. Peduncles 5–15 mm (bracts 0–2); flowering spring
E. cooperi
31. Peduncles 1–30 mm (if 5+ mm, leafy); flowering late summer–fall
→ 32
32. Axillary leaf fascicles sometimes present; desert mountains of California to Utah, w Texas, adjacent Mexico
E. laricifolia
32. Axillary leaf fascicles usually present; California, Baja California (Mexico)
→ 33
33. Outermost phyllaries not herbaceous-appendaged (apices rounded, acute, or acuminate); cypselae usually sericeo-villous to densely hairy
→ 34
33. Outermost phyllaries herbaceous-appendaged; cypselae glabrous or hairy (more densely distally)
→ 35
34. Phyllaries yellowish tan, 0.6–1.5 mm wide (apices acute to acuminate or cuspidate, midnerves ± thickened); disc florets 18–25; c California (Monterey County)
E. fasciculata
34. Phyllaries tan, 0.4–0.8 mm wide (apices usually rounded or obtuse, rarely acute, midnerves conspicuously thickened); disc florets 6–20; s California (Ventura County and south)
E. palmeri
35. Leaves 3–18(–23) mm; ray florets 2–6; disc florets 5–14; dunes or sand hills along or near coast, Los Angeles to Sonoma counties, California
E. ericoides
35. Leaves 12–35 mm; ray florets 3–10; disc florets 11–25; usually sandy to stony, often disturbed, soils away from coast, Ventura County, California (and south)
E. pinifolia
Source FNA vol. 20, p. 50. Treatment authors: Lowell E. Urbatsch, Loran C. Anderson, Roland P. Roberts, Kurt M. Neubig. FNA vol. 20, p. 59. Treatment authors: Lowell E. Urbatsch, Loran C. Anderson, Roland P. Roberts, Kurt M. Neubig.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Astereae 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. 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
Subordinate 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. 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 section Asiris, Haplopappus section E., Haplopappus section Macronema, Haplopappus section Stenotopsis Diplopappus ericoides, Haplopappus ericoides, Haplopappus ericoides subsp. blakei
Name authority Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 7: 318. (1840) (Lessing) Jepson: Fl. W. Calif., 559. (1901)
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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