Euchiton sphaericus
Euchiton
globe cotton-leaf, star-cudweed, tropical creeping cudweed
cottonleaf, cudweed, euchiton
simple or branched from bases (sometimes branched from leaf axils), thinly and persistently white-tomentose.
usually 1, erect.
basal and proximal cauline withering before flowering (blades 1-nerved, oblanceolate to spatulate);
cauline 8–12, blades linear, 2–4 cm × 1–2 mm (largest at midstem), bases not clasping, margins revolute, sometimes undulate, abaxial faces white, tomentose, adaxial faces green, glabrous.
basal and cauline (sometimes in rosettes); alternate; petiolate or sessile;
blades oblanceolate, spatulate, lanceolate, or linear, bases cuneate or ampliate, margins entire (sometimes undulate and/or revolute), faces bicolor, abaxial usually silvery, tomentose, adaxial usually green, glabrate or glabrous.
subtending heads 4–8, 10–30 mm, surpassing heads.
3.5–4 mm.
narrowly campanulate to cylindric, 3–5 mm.
flat, smooth, epaleate.
16–26.
16–150 (more numerous than bisexual);
corollas purple or distally purplish.
1.
brownish to tawny, sometimes purple-tinged (shiny), elliptic-lanceolate, apices acute.
in 3–4+ series, mostly stramineous to brownish, sometimes purplish to pinkish (hyaline, stereomes not glandular), unequal, chartaceous toward tips.
in globose clusters 10–20 mm diam.
disciform, usually in terminal clusters (subtended by leafy bracts, sometimes with axillary clusters), rarely borne singly.
obovoid-ellipsoid, slightly flattened, faces minutely hairy or papillate (papilliform hairs or papillae ± clavate, not myxogenic);
pappi readily falling (singly or in groups), of 12–20, distinct or basally coherent, barbellate bristles in 1 series.
bristles distinct or basally coherent (falling in groups).
(bisexual) florets 1–7;
corollas purple or distally purplish.
= 14.
= 28.
Euchiton sphaericus
Euchiton
In California and Hawaii, plants of Euchiton sphaericus have been identified as Gnaphalium japonicum; annual duration, slender taproots, non-clasping leaf bases, and single bisexual florets establish the correct identity of E. sphaericus. It “varies enormously in length, position and degree of branching, and the branches may be either vegetative or flower-bearing” (D. G. Drury 1972).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Species 17 (3 in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Annuals; taprooted; leaf bases not clasping; bracts subtending heads 4–8; heads in globose clusters; bisexual florets 1 | E. sphaericus |
1. Perennials or biennials; fibrous-rooted; leaf bases subclasping; bracts subtending heads 2–5; heads in hemispheric clusters; bisexual florets 3–7 | → 2 |
2. Stolons usually present; basal leaves in rosettes at flowering; cauline leaves 2–4(–6), blades linear to oblanceolate, 1–2 cm × 1–2 mm; bracts subtending heads 2–3, not surpassing heads; pistillate florets 40–60 | E. gymnocephalus |
2. Stolons usually absent; basal leaves withering before flowering; cauline leaves 6–10, blades mostly linear, 3–8 cm × 2–3 mm; bracts subtending heads 3–5, surpassing heads; pistillate florets 80–150 | E. involucratus |
CA
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
