Flora of North America species comparison

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Packera anonyma

Packera castoreus

Small's ragwort

beaver mountain ragwort
Habit Perennials, 30–70+ cm; fibrous-rooted (caudices erect to ascending). Perennials, 3–9+ cm; usually fibrous-rooted, sometimes rhizomatous (bases erect or ascending, branched).
Stems

1 or 2–5, loosely clustered, bases densely tomentose, leaf axils usually tomentose.

1 or 2–3, (white) woolly-tomentose.
Basal leaves

petiolate;

blades narrowly elliptic to oblanceolate, 30–90+ × 10–20+ mm, bases tapering, margins serrate to crenate-serrate (apices rounded to acute, faces glabrous).

(and proximal cauline) petiolate;

blades obovate to oblanceolate or spatulate, 10–20+ × 5–18 mm, bases tapering, margins entire or crenate (abaxial faces densely tomentose, adaxial glabrescent).
Cauline leaves

gradually reduced (petiolate or sessile; elliptic to lanceolate, often pinnatifid).

gradually reduced (becoming sessile and bractlike).
Peduncles

bracteate, distally tomentose.

ebracteate.
Ray florets

8 or 13;

corolla laminae 5–7+ mm.

0.
Disc florets

45–60+;

corolla tubes 1.5–2 mm, limbs 1.5–2 mm.

not seen.
Phyllaries

13 or 21, light green, 3–5 mm, glabrous.

purple-tinged, 7–10 mm, tomentose (ciliate distally, apices with dense tufts of hairs).
Calyculi

inconspicuous.

inconspicuous.
Heads

20–70(–100+) in corymbiform arrays.

1–4+, in corymbiform arrays.
Cypselae

0.75–1 mm, hirsute on ribs;

pappi 2.5–3 mm.

not seen (reported to be glabrous).
2n

= 44.

Packera anonyma

Packera castoreus
Phenology Flowering early Jun–mid Jul (north), early Apr–late May (south). Flowering late Jul–late Sep.
Habitat Open fields, meadows, roadsides, disturbed sites, in drying or sandy soils Ridges, spruce-fir communities, igneous soils
Elevation 50–1800 m (200–5900 ft) 3300–3900 m (10800–12800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; DC; FL; GA; KY; LA; MD; MS; NC; NY; OH; PA; SC; TN; VA; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
UT
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Packera anonyma is common, almost weedy throughout most of its range. It grows on serpentine in Maryland, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. In western parts of its range, putative hybrids between P. anonyma and P. plattensis and P. tomentosa have been reported.

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

Of conservation concern.

Packera castoreus is known only from relatively few collections from the Tushar Mountains in Beaver and Piute counties. Welsh speculated that it may have some affinities with P. cana and P. werneriifolia.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 20, p. 578. FNA vol. 20, p. 582.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Senecioneae > Packera Asteraceae > tribe Senecioneae > Packera
Sibling taxa
P. antennariifolia, P. aurea, P. bernardina, P. bolanderi, P. breweri, P. cana, P. cardamine, P. castoreus, P. clevelandii, P. contermina, P. crocata, P. cymbalaria, P. cynthioides, P. debilis, P. dimorphophylla, P. eurycephala, P. fendleri, P. flettii, P. franciscana, P. ganderi, P. glabella, P. greenei, P. hartiana, P. hesperia, P. hyperborealis, P. indecora, P. ionophylla, P. layneae, P. macounii, P. malmstenii, P. millefolium, P. millelobata, P. multilobata, P. musiniensis, P. neomexicana, P. obovata, P. ogotorukensis, P. pauciflora, P. paupercula, P. plattensis, P. porteri, P. pseudaurea, P. quercetorum, P. sanguisorboides, P. schweinitziana, P. spellenbergii, P. streptanthifolia, P. subnuda, P. tampicana, P. texensis, P. tomentosa, P. tridenticulata, P. werneriifolia
P. anonyma, P. antennariifolia, P. aurea, P. bernardina, P. bolanderi, P. breweri, P. cana, P. cardamine, P. clevelandii, P. contermina, P. crocata, P. cymbalaria, P. cynthioides, P. debilis, P. dimorphophylla, P. eurycephala, P. fendleri, P. flettii, P. franciscana, P. ganderi, P. glabella, P. greenei, P. hartiana, P. hesperia, P. hyperborealis, P. indecora, P. ionophylla, P. layneae, P. macounii, P. malmstenii, P. millefolium, P. millelobata, P. multilobata, P. musiniensis, P. neomexicana, P. obovata, P. ogotorukensis, P. pauciflora, P. paupercula, P. plattensis, P. porteri, P. pseudaurea, P. quercetorum, P. sanguisorboides, P. schweinitziana, P. spellenbergii, P. streptanthifolia, P. subnuda, P. tampicana, P. texensis, P. tomentosa, P. tridenticulata, P. werneriifolia
Synonyms Senecio anonymus, Senecio aureus var. angustifolius, Senecio earlei, Senecio smallii Senecio castoreus
Name authority (Alph. Wood) W. A. Weber & Á. Löve: Phytologia 49: 45. (1981) (S. L. Welsh) Kartesz: in J. T. Kartesz and C. A. Meacham, Synth. N. Amer. Fl., nomencl. innov. 20. (1999)
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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