Packera schweinitziana |
Packera debilis |
|
---|---|---|
New England groundsel, Schweinitz's groundsel, Schweinitz's ragwort |
weak groundsel |
|
Habit | Perennials, 40–70+ cm, fibrous-rooted and/or rhizomatous (rhizomes weakly branched). | Perennials, 20–50+ cm; ± fibrous-rooted (caudices weakly branched, relatively short). |
Stems | 1, glabrous or leaf axils sparsely tomentose. |
1 or 2–4, clustered, bases sparsely floccose-tomentose or glabrous, leaf axils tomentose. |
Basal leaves | (and proximal cauline) petiolate; blades narrowly ovate to oblong-lanceolate, 30–70+ × 10–20+ mm, bases abruptly contracted to subcordate, margins usually serrate-dentate, sometimes subcrenate (apices acute). |
(and proximal cauline, turgid) petiolate; blades elliptic to ovate or subreniform, 20–40+ × 15–30+ mm, bases cuneate to subcordate, margins subentire or crenate to crenate-dentate. |
Cauline leaves | gradually reduced (± sessile; lacerate to subcrenate). |
gradually reduced (sessile; pinnately lobed, sinuses deep, rounded, ultimate margins entire or subentire). |
Peduncles | bracteate, glabrous. |
ebracteate (or bractlets short), glabrous or sparsely hairy. |
Ray florets | 8–13; corolla laminae 4–7 mm. |
0. |
Disc florets | 50–70+; corolla tubes 3.5–4 mm, limbs 3–3.5 mm. |
45–65+; corolla tubes 3–4 mm, limbs 2–3 mm. |
Phyllaries | 13 or 21, light green (tips sometimes black), 5–8 mm, glabrous. |
13 or 21, green (tips cyanic), 6–8+ mm, glabrous. |
Calyculi | conspicuous. |
inconspicuous. |
Heads | 8–20+ in loose, corymbiform arrays. |
6–20 in open or compact, corymbiform arrays. |
Cypselae | 1–1.5 mm, glabrous; pappi 5–5.5 mm. |
1–2 mm, glabrous; pappi 4.5–5.5 mm. |
2n | = 44. |
= 46. |
Packera schweinitziana |
Packera debilis |
|
Phenology | Flowering May–Jul. | Flowering late Jun–mid Aug. |
Habitat | Sunny, wet areas, meadows, swamps, ditches, roadsides | Meadows, usually in alkaline soils |
Elevation | 100–1800 m (300–5900 ft) | 1700–3000 m (5600–9800 ft) |
Distribution |
ME; NC; NH; NY; TN; VT; NB; NS; PE; QC
|
CO; ID; MT; WY |
Discussion | Packera schweinitziana is rarely mistaken for any other taxon. It grows on slightly acidic soils and may reproduce vegetatively by branched rhizomes. The group of populations on Roan Mountain on the Tennessee-North Carolina border is disjunct from the main distribution. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Packera debilis is the most abundant of the rayless species of Packera in the southern Rocky Mountains. It is infrequently collected, nearly always from wet, alkaline meadows. The lobing and subsucculent nature of the leaves may be related to the substrate; that has not been tested experimentally. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 598. | FNA vol. 20, p. 584. |
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Senecioneae > Packera | Asteraceae > tribe Senecioneae > Packera |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Senecio schweinitzianus, Senecio aureus var. lanceolatus, Senecio robbinsii | Senecio debilis, Senecio fedifolius, Senecio nephrophyllus |
Name authority | (Nuttall) W. A. Weber & Á. Löve: Phytologia 49: 48. (1981) | (Nuttall) W. A. Weber & Á. Löve: Phytologia 49: 46. (1981) |
Web links |