Flora of North America species comparison

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Packera hesperia

Packera castoreus

serpentine groundsel, Siskiyou butterweed, western ragwort

beaver mountain ragwort
Habit Perennials, 7–15+ cm; fibrous-rooted (caudices relatively slender). Perennials, 3–9+ cm; usually fibrous-rooted, sometimes rhizomatous (bases erect or ascending, branched).
Stems

1, glabrous or sparsely tomentose.

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

(and proximal cauline) petiolate;

blades ovate, oblanceolate, or spatulate, 10–30 × 5–20 mm, bases tapering, sometimes obtuse, margins entire, subentire, or dentate.

(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

abruptly reduced (sessile, clasping; bractlike, entire).

gradually reduced (becoming sessile and bractlike).
Peduncles

bracteate (bractlets red-tinged), densely lanate-tomentose.

ebracteate.
Ray florets

(8–)13;

corolla laminae 6–10+ mm.

0.
Disc florets

35–50+;

corolla tubes 2.5–3.5 mm, limbs 3–4 mm.

not seen.
Phyllaries

(13–)21, green (tips red or dark red), densely tomentose proximally.

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

conspicuous (bractlets narrow, red-tinged).

inconspicuous.
Heads

1–4+ in corymbiform arrays.

1–4+, in corymbiform arrays.
Cypselae

1.5–2 mm, glabrous;

pappi 5–6 mm.

not seen (reported to be glabrous).
2n

= 46.

Packera hesperia

Packera castoreus
Phenology Flowering mid Apr–mid Jun. Flowering late Jul–late Sep.
Habitat Serpentine derived soils, open woodland scrub Ridges, spruce-fir communities, igneous soils
Elevation 500–2500 m (1600–8200 ft) 3300–3900 m (10800–12800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
UT
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

Packera hesperia is known only from the Siskiyou Mountains.

(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. 589. FNA vol. 20, p. 582.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Senecioneae > Packera Asteraceae > tribe Senecioneae > Packera
Sibling taxa
P. anonyma, 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. 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 hesperius, Senecio auleticus Senecio castoreus
Name authority (Greene) W. A. Weber & Á. Löve: Phytologia 49: 47. (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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