The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

New Mexico groundsel

Oak Creek ragwort

Habit Perennials, biennials, or annuals, 20–50+ cm; fibrous-rooted, taprooted, or ± rhizomatous (bases branched, horizontal or ascending to erect). Perennials, 60–100+ cm; taprooted (caudices subligneous, ascending to erect).
Stems

1 or 2–5+, clustered, lanate- or arachno-tomentose or glabrescent.

1 or 2–4, clustered (proximally deeply purple-tinged, distally lightly tinged), glabrous or tomentose at bases and in leaf axils.

Basal leaves

(often abaxially cyanic) petiolate (petioles hairy to glabrate);

blades ovate to lanceolate or narrowly lanceolate, 20–60+ × 10–30+ mm, bases abruptly contracted to tapering, margins subentire or denticulate to subserrate (abaxial faces usually tomentose, adaxials frequently glabrate).

(and proximal cauline) petiolate;

blades obovate or lyrate (pinnately lobed, lateral lobes 2–6+ pairs, their bases petioluliform, terminal lobes larger than laterals, midribs narrowly winged), 60–160+ × 20–40+ mm, bases wide, ultimate margins sharply dentate, crenate-dentate, or irregularly incised.

Cauline leaves

gradually or abruptly reduced (proximal petiolate, similar to basals; mids and distals sessile, lanceolate, entire).

gradually reduced (petiolate or sessile; shallowly lobed, midribs ± winged, distals bractlike, dentate to incised).

Peduncles

conspicuously bracteate, usually hairy.

ebracteate, glabrous.

Ray florets

(5–)8 or 13;

corolla laminae 4–10 mm.

(8–)13;

corolla laminae 6–10+ mm.

Disc florets

40–60+;

corolla tubes 1.5–2.5 mm, limbs 3.5–4.5 mm.

60–70+;

corolla tubes 2–3 mm, limbs 3.5–4.5 mm.

Phyllaries

13 or 21, green or yellowish, 4–7+ mm, tomentose to glabrescent.

(13–)21, green (tips yellow), 5–7 mm, glabrous (tips sometimes hairy).

Calyculi

conspicuous.

inconspicuous.

Heads

3–20+ in open or compact, corymbiform to subumbelliform arrays (subtended by smaller arrays arising from leaf axils).

15–40+ in open, cymiform arrays.

Cypselae

1.5–2.5 mm, usually hirtellous on ribs, sometimes glabrous;

pappi 5–6+ mm.

1.5–2 mm, glabrous or ± scabrellous;

pappi 5.5–6.5 mm.

2n

= 44, 46, 92.

= 92.

Packera neomexicana

Packera quercetorum

Phenology Flowering mid Apr–early Jun.
Habitat Rocky soils, open areas, scrub-oak and pinyon-pine forests, chaparral
Elevation 800–2200 m (2600–7200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; UT; w Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; NM
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

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

Packera quercetorum is found only infrequently and in relatively small populations in central and southern Arizona and west-central New Mexico. The plants are robust and have probable affinities to P. multilobata. The plants have a bluish tinge when freshly collected and are distinctive in the field.

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

Key
1. Plants loosely tomentose or glabrate; basal leaves: blades narrowly lanceolate, margins subentire or irregularly dentate
var. mutabilis
1. Plants usually densely lanate or woolly tomentose, seldom glabrate; basal leaves: blades ovate or broadly lanceolate, margins dentate to deeply dentate or dissected
→ 2
2. Plants taprooted; cauline leaves conspicuous
var. neomexicana
2. Plants rhizomatous or fibrous-rooted; cauline leaves inconspicuous (bractlike)
var. toumeyi
Source FNA vol. 20, p. 593. FNA vol. 20, p. 598.
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. hesperia, P. hyperborealis, P. indecora, P. ionophylla, P. layneae, P. macounii, P. malmstenii, P. millefolium, P. millelobata, P. multilobata, P. musiniensis, 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. 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. sanguisorboides, P. schweinitziana, P. spellenbergii, P. streptanthifolia, P. subnuda, P. tampicana, P. texensis, P. tomentosa, P. tridenticulata, P. werneriifolia
Subordinate taxa
P. neomexicana var. mutabilis, P. neomexicana var. neomexicana, P. neomexicana var. toumeyi
Synonyms Senecio neomexicanus Senecio quercetorum, Senecio macropus
Name authority (A. Gray) W. A. Weber & Á. Löve: Phytologia 49: 47. (1981) (Greene) C. Jeffrey: Kew Bull. 47: 101. (1992)
Web links