Pityopsis aspera
Pityopsis
pineland silkgrass
grass-leaf goldenasters, silkgrass
usually 1, erect, green to brown distally, simple, slender, proximally silky-sericeous, distal 2/3 sometimes densely stipitate-glandular.
ascending to erect, simple or branched, usually moderately to densely appressed silky-sericeous (hairs often anastomosing), rarely glabrate, sometimes stipitate-glandular.
basal overwintering, in rosettes (at ends of short rhizomes), ascending to spreading, blades linear-oblanceolate, 50–250(–350) × 5–10 mm, margins sometimes stipitate-glandular, apices acute, faces sparsely to densely silky-sericeous;
cauline ascending, linear, greatly reduced distally, margins sparsely to densely stipitate-glandular, sparsely sericeous, glabrescent, or densely stipitate-glandular;
proximal 30–120 × 2–10 mm, distal 20–50 × 1–3 mm, sometimes glabrate.
basal and cauline; alternate;
sessile;
blades 3–11-parallel-nerved, linear to lanceolate or ovate, often grasslike (basal shorter or longer than mid, mid larger), margins entire, faces glabrate to densely piloso-sericeous (hairs long, thin, soft, sometimes anastomosing).
1–7, 1–6 cm, densely stipitate-glandular, glabrescent;
bracteoles linear, stipitate-glandular.
turbinate, 4.5–8 mm (shorter than mature pappi).
turbinate (campanulate upon drying), (4.5–13 ×) 5.5–14 mm.
slightly convex, pitted, epaleate.
6–10;
laminae 4–6 mm.
8–35, pistillate, fertile;
corollas yellow.
15–45;
corollas 4–5.5 mm, proximal throats glabrate to sparsely short-pilose, lobes 0.5 mm, glabrous to sparsely pilose.
15–60, bisexual, fertile;
corollas yellow, ± ampliate (glabrate, hairs minute and usually only near base of limbs, rarely sparsely to moderately long pilose on much of limbs), tubes shorter than narrowly funnelform throats, lobes 5, erect to spreading, deltate (glabrous or strigose, rarely sparsely long-pilose);
style-branch appendages deltate (papillate).
in 5–7 series, margins fimbriate, sparsely piloso-ciliate, moderately so distally (green zones in distal 1/2), apices acute, sometimes long piloso-ciliate distally, faces moderately stipitate-glandular.
30–50 in 3–5 series, 1-nerved (midnerves sometimes raised; not keeled), lanceolate, unequal, margins scarious, (darker green zones lens-shaped apically) faces glabrate to silky-pilose and/or densely stipitate-glandular.
(4–)10–79, in corymbiform arrays.
radiate, usually in corymbiform to paniculiform arrays, rarely borne singly.
fusiform, 2–3 mm, ribbed, faces strigose;
pappi: outer of linear to linear-triangular scales 0.5–1 mm, inner of 25–35 bristles 5–6 mm.
(often dark) fusiform, sometimes slightly compressed, sometimes slightly falcate, 8–10-ribbed, faces sparsely to densely strigose;
pappi persistent, in (3–)4 series, outer of linear to linear-triangular, barbellate or erose-fimbrillate scales (0.3–1.4 mm, length 5–20% longer inner), inner 2–3 series of 25–50 light tan to light rust, unequal, barbellate, apically attenuate or weakly clavate bristles.
= 9.
Pityopsis aspera
Pityopsis
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
Pityopsis aspera grows on the outer coastal plain.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Species 7 (7 in the flora).
Pityopsis has been treated historically as a distinct genus or as a section of Chrysopsis (A. Gray 1884) or Heterotheca (L. H. Shinners 1951e). J. C. Semple (1977) and Semple et al. (1980) presented cytologic, morphologic, and anatomic reasons for treating Pityopsis, Chrysopsis, and Heterotheca as separate genera. Semple and F. D. Bowers (1985) monographed the genus; their treatment is followed here. Semple and Bowers (1987) reported on the distribution of ploidy levels within the genus. In a preliminary cladistic study of the Chrysopsidinae, Pityopsis was consistently separate from Chrysopsis and Heterotheca (Semple and L. Tebby 1999). L. Brouillet (pers. comm.) noted that DNA sequence data also indicate that Pityopsis is separate from Chrysopsis and Heterotheca. Semple and J. L. A. Hood (2005) described additional differences among the pappi of Chrysopsis, Heterotheca, and Pityopsis.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Stems stipitate-glandular throughout; proximal cauline leaf faces silky-sericeous, mid to distal margins stipitate-glandular, faces usually glabrate; Florida, Georgia | var. aspera |
1. Stems sometimes stipitate-glandular distally; cauline leaf margins and faces sericeous; Louisiana to Virginia | var. adenolepis |
1. Basal leaves usually longer than cauline, grasslike, faces sericeous | → 2 |
1. Basal leaves shorter than cauline, mid and distal similar in size, not grasslike or only somewhat so (in P. ruthii), faces sericeous to glabrate | → 4 |
2. Leaves and peduncles (and stems) not densely stipitate-glandular; phyllaries eglandular (except in var. graminifolia) | P. graminifolia |
2. Peduncles and phyllaries moderately to densely stipitate-glandular; distal leaves sometimes stipitate-glandular, especially along margins | → 3 |
3. Cauline leaves 2–6; heads 1–5(–10), involucres 9–11 mm | P. oligantha |
3. Cauline leaves more than 15; heads (4–)10–70, involucres 4.5–8 mm | P. aspera |
4. Peduncles and phyllaries moderately to densely stipitate-glandular; leaf faces silvery-sericeous | P. ruthii |
4. Peduncles and phyllaries not or sparsely, minutely stipitate-glandular; leaf faces sericeous to glabrate | → 5 |
5. Stems flexuous; involucres (7–)8–11 mm, equaling pappi | P. flexuosa |
5. Stems not flexuous; involucres 5–8 mm, usually shorter than pappi | → 6 |
6. Stems glabrous or sparsely piloso-sericeous; cauline leaves linear-filiform | P. pinifolia |
6. Stems sparsely to densely sericeous; cauline leaves broadly to narrowly oblanceolate or linear | → 7 |
7. Cauline leaves linear, usually falcate; sandy coastal areas, New Jersey to Cape Cod | P. falcata |
7. Cauline leaves lanceolate to ovate, not falcate | P. graminifolia |
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