Lasthenia minor
Lasthenia microglossa
coastal goldfields
small-Ray goldfields
erect, branched distally, ± woolly, especially distally.
erect or sprawling, branched distally, villous, especially distally.
broadly to narrowly linear, 20–120 × 1–10 mm, margins entire or irregularly toothed or lobed (lobes to 1.5 mm), faces glabrous or villous.
linear or subulate, 15–80 × 1.5–2(–4) mm, margins ± entire, faces moderately hairy.
hemispheric, 4–6 mm.
cylindric to narrowly obconic, 6–8.5 mm.
conic, muricate, glabrous.
subulate, papillate, glabrous.
(8–)13; (corollas light to golden yellow) laminae oblong, 4–8 mm.
4; (corollas yellow) laminae lance-elliptic, (0–)0.5–1 mm.
lobes 4(–5).
7–14, oblong to ovate, hairy (especially at margins).
4, elliptic to oblong, hairy.
black, narrowly clavate, 2–2.5 mm, glabrous or hairy;
pappi 0, or of 2–3(–4) brown or white, lanceolate or subulate, aristate scales plus 4–5+ shorter, ± truncate, fimbriate scales.
black, ± linear, to 5 mm, hairy;
pappi 0, or of 1–4 brown or white, linear to ovate or lanceolate, aristate scales (sometimes variable within heads).
appendages ovate or elliptic, acute (style apices ± deltate with apical tufts of hairs and subapical fringes of shorter hairs).
appendages subulate (without wartlike glands; style apices lanceolate, glabrous).
= 8.
= 24.
Lasthenia minor
Lasthenia microglossa
Lasthenia minor is variable; coastal plants tend to have lower stature and broader leaves and tend to flower later in the year. Inland populations were once common in the San Joaquin Valley and are now harder to find as grasslands become cultivated, grazed, or built upon. Epappose plants are common and sometimes comprise entire populations.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Because the rays are inconspicuous, plants of the self-pollinating Lasthenia microglossa are easy to overlook. Besides growing in habitats similar to those occupied by L. debilis, L. microglossa is found also beneath chaparral shrubs and extends into desert areas, where it grows near rocks that may provide favorable shade and moisture conditions.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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