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plains butterweed, prairie groundsel

Habit Biennials or perennials, 20–60+ cm; rhizomatous and/or fibrous-rooted (bases erect to suberect), sometimes stoloniferous (mostly eastern populations).
Stems

1 or 2–3, clustered, floccose-tomentose proximally and in leaf axils, otherwise sparsely tomentose or glabrescent.

Basal leaves

(and proximal cauline) petiolate;

blades narrowly elliptic to elliptic-ovate or oblanceolate to suborbiculate or sublyrate, 20–70+ × 10–30+ mm, bases tapering to rounded or abruptly contracted, margins subentire to crenate, serrate-dentate, or pinnately lobed (abaxial faces floccose-tomentose, especially along midribs, ± glabrescent).

Cauline leaves

gradually reduced (petiolate, sublyrate or pinnatisect, abaxial faces sparsely hairy; distals sessile, subentire to irregularly dissected).

Peduncles

conspicuously bracteate, sparsely to densely tomentose.

Ray florets

8–10;

corolla laminae 9–10 mm.

Disc florets

60–70+;

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

Phyllaries

13 or 21, green (tips sometimes cyanic), 5–6+ mm, densely tomentose proximally, glabrescent distally.

Calyculi

inconspicuous.

Heads

6–20+ in open or congested, corymbiform arrays.

Cypselae

1.5–2.5 mm, usually hirtellous, sometimes glabrous;

pappi 6.5–7.5 mm.

2n

= 46, 92.

Packera plattensis

Phenology Flowering mid Apr–early Jun(–mid Jul, north).
Habitat Prairies, meadows, open wooded areas, along highways, railroads, around mining and construction areas, usually on limestone
Elevation 50–1800 m (200–5900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AR; CO; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; LA; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; ND; NE; NM; OH; OK; PA; SD; TN; VA; WI; WY; ON; SK
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Discussion

Packera plattensis is abundant, widespread, and almost weedy. Putative hybrids with other species are known. Plants in mesic, remnant prairies in the east are sometimes stoloniferous.

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

Source FNA vol. 20, p. 596.
Parent taxa 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. neomexicana, P. obovata, P. ogotorukensis, P. pauciflora, P. paupercula, 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 plattensis, Senecio pseudotomentosus
Name authority (Nuttall) W. A. Weber & Á. Löve: Phytologia 49: 48. (1981)
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