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

Palouse goldenweed, smallhead goldenweed

goldenweed

Habit Plants 25–70 cm. Perennials, 5–50(–90) cm, sericeous, tomentose, or glabrous, sometimes sessile- or stipitate-glandular (taproots woody, caudices often short, branched).
Stems

1–3, erect, sometimes curved-ascending, sparsely villous to tomentose, eglandular.

decumbent to ascending or erect (leafy or subscapiform, often red-tinged), mostly simple.

Leaves

basal blades lanceolate to oblanceolate, 80–310 × 9–30 mm, margins entire or undulate, ciliate;

cauline sessile, blades lanceolate, 30–120 × 5–20 mm;

faces sparsely tomentose, eglandular.

basal and cauline; alternate;

basal usually short-petiolate, cauline sessile;

basal blades 1-nerved, oblanceolate to elliptic or nearly linear (3–250(–450) × 3–30 mm, bases usually attenuate), margins entire or spinulose-dentate or -serrate or shallowly laciniate;

cauline often lanceolate, reduced distally (bases sometimes clasping).

Peduncles

0–3 cm.

Involucres

campanulate, 10–23 × 12–20 mm (in axils of leafy bract).

hemispheric to narrowly campanulate, 5–15(–30) × 5–60 mm.

Receptacles

convex, pitted, epaleate.

Ray florets

17–25;

corollas 6–14.5 mm.

10–80, pistillate, fertile;

corollas yellow (usually 10–35 mm, sometimes reduced, not surpassing involucres).

Disc florets

35–60;

corollas 7–11 mm.

20–100, bisexual, fertile;

corollas yellow, tubes ± equaling tubular-funnelform throats, lobes 5, erect, deltate;

style-branch appendages triangular.

Phyllaries

in 4–5 series, green, lanceolate, 5–12 mm, unequal, margins entire, ciliate, apices acute, faces villous.

10–40 in 2–6 series, appressed to loosely spreading, 1-nerved, oblanceolate to oblong or linear, equal or unequal, usually herbaceous and yellow-green or with distinct, green apical patch, sometimes proximal 2/3 white-indurate (apices occasionally squarrose, obtuse or acute, occasionally mucronate), faces glabrous or densely villous to tomentose.

Heads

4–12 in open, racemiform arrays.

usually radiate or disciform, rarely discoid, borne singly or 2–5(–15) in racemiform, spiciform, or loose, corymbiform arrays (subtended by leafy bracts in P. carthamoides and P. radiata).

Cypselae

narrowly oblong, 4.5–6.5 mm, 4-angled, faces striate, villous;

pappi tawny, 5.8–8 mm.

subcylindro-fusiform, terete to ± flattened, 3–4-angled, faintly 10–12-nerved, faces sericeous to strigose or glabrous;

pappi persistent, of 15–60 brownish, rigid, unequal, smooth, apically attenuate bristles in 1 series.

x

= 6.

2n

= 36.

Pyrrocoma liatriformis

Pyrrocoma

Phenology Flowering Jul–Aug.
Habitat Prairies, roadsides
Elevation 700–1100 m (2300–3600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
ID; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
w North America
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

Pyrrocoma liatriformis is one of the dominants of virgin Palouse prairies and appears to be threatened. It is recognized by its hirsute stems, leaves, and phyllaries, and the small, pedunculate heads.

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

Species 14 (14 in the flora).

Pyrrocoma has often been treated as a section within genus Haplopappus (H. M. Hall 1928; A. Cronquist 1994). Various workers have suggested that Haplopappus be divided into a number of smaller genera such as Pyrrocoma, Tonestus, Stenotus, Chrysothamnus, and others. Pyrrocoma was recognized as a separate genus in the dissertation by R. A. Mayes (1976) and in a floristic treatment by G. K. Brown (1993b). It is characterized by its persistent basal rosettes, yellow-rayed heads on scapiform or few-bracteate peduncles, and obtuse, acute, or mucronate phyllaries. The heads vary greatly in size and commonly are sessile or subsessile and borne singly or in spiciform arrays. The base chromosome number of x = 6 is rare in Haplopappus in the broad sense, and supports recognition of a distinct genus (Mayes). Most species of Pyrrocoma are diploid, some tetraploid or hexaploid. The species are frequently polymorphic, and many subspecies and varieties have been named. Some of these taxa are only weakly characterized and their status needs clarification. The present treatment largely follows the works of Hall and Mayes.

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

Key
1. Heads disciform, subtended by leaflike bracts
→ 2
1. Heads radiate, not subtended by leaflike bracts
→ 3
2. Plants 5–50 cm; stems reddish, villous; basal leaf blades 5–40 mm wide, margins ciliate, faces puberulent; phyllaries in 3–5 series (± loose), unequal, margins ciliate, faces puberulent; British Columbia, nw United States
P. carthamoides
2. Plants 40–90 cm; stems pale, rarely reddish, glabrous; basal leaf blades 40–200 mm wide, margins eciliate, faces glabrous; phyllaries in 5–6 series, loosely appressed, unequal, margins eciliate, faces glabrous; Snake River canyon, Idaho, Oregon
P. radiata
3. Leaves glandular
→ 4
3. Leaves eglandular
→ 6
4. Glands sessile; stems not red-tinged, glabrous, resinous; basal leaf faces glabrous, gland-dotted; heads in crowded, spiciform arrays
P. lucida
4. Glands stipitate; stems red-tinged, hairy; basal leaf faces hairy; heads in corymbiform, racemiform, or paniculiform arrays
→ 5
5. Stems villous, tomentose, or woolly; basal leaf faces villous to tomentose; heads in racemiform arrays
P. hirta
5. Stems ± tomentulose or glabrous; basal leaf faces tomentulose to glabrate or glabrous; heads in corymbiform or paniculiform arrays
P. lanceolata
6. Heads 3–20 (in racemiform, spiciform, corymbiform, or paniculiform arrays)
→ 7
6. Heads 1–6+
→ 10
7. Heads in corymbiform or paniculiform arrays
P. lanceolata
7. Heads in racemiform or spiciform arrays
→ 8
8. Phyllaries in 2–3 series, (loose) linear-lanceolate, subequal
P. insecticruris
8. Phyllaries in 4–5 series, lanceolate to oblanceolate or oblong, unequal
→ 9
9. Stems sparsely villous to tomentose; basal leaf faces sparsely tomen-tose; cypselae narrowly oblong
P. liatriformis
9. Stems usually glabrous, sometimes sparsely tomentulose or villous; basal leaf faces usually glabrous; cypselae subcylindric
P. racemosa
10. Involucres 20–60 mm wide; basal leaf blades broadly oblanceolate or spatulate to oblong, elliptic, or lanceolate, margins usually entire or undulate, sometimes dentate
→ 11
10. Involucres 10–20 mm wide; basal leaf blades usually linear to lanceolate or narrowly oblanceolate, margins usually coarsely dentate to laciniate, rarely entire
→ 13
11. Heads usually in racemiform arrays
P. integrifolia
11. Heads usually borne singly, sometimes 2–6
→ 12
12. Plants usually 3–18 cm; stems usually sparsely villous, sometimes tomentose; basal leaf margins sparsely ciliate; phyllaries in 3–4 series, lanceolate to oblanceolate, unequal, margins ciliate, faces villous
P. clementis
12. Plants usually 18–80 cm; stems usually glabrous, often tomentose distally; basal leaf margins eciliate; phyllaries oblong to spatulate, subequal, margins eciliate, faces usually glabrous
P. crocea
13. Leaf faces glabrous; phyllaries in 3–4 series, oblanceolate to oblong, unequal, margins ciliate, faces glabrous; cypselae glabrous
P. apargioides
13. Leaf faces sericeous or shaggy-tomentose; phyllaries in 2 series, linear to linear-lanceolate, equal, margins ciliate, faces ±villous; cypselae sericeous
→ 14
14. Leaf blades 2–5 mm wide (grasslike), margins usually entire
P. linearis
14. Leaf blades 3–20 mm wide, margins dentate to laciniate
P. uniflora
Source FNA vol. 20, p. 420. FNA vol. 20, p. 413. Author: David J. Bogler.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Pyrrocoma Asteraceae > tribe Astereae
Sibling taxa
P. apargioides, P. carthamoides, P. clementis, P. crocea, P. hirta, P. insecticruris, P. integrifolia, P. lanceolata, P. linearis, P. lucida, P. racemosa, P. radiata, P. uniflora
Subordinate taxa
P. apargioides, P. carthamoides, P. clementis, P. crocea, P. hirta, P. insecticruris, P. integrifolia, P. lanceolata, P. liatriformis, P. linearis, P. lucida, P. racemosa, P. radiata, P. uniflora
Synonyms Haplopappus integrifolius subsp. liatriformis, Haplopappus integrifolius subsp. scaberulus, Haplopappus liatriformis, Haplopappus racemosus subsp. liatriformis Haplopappus section P.
Name authority Greene: Leafl. Bot. Observ. Crit. 2: 17. (1909) Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 306, plate 107. (1833)
Web links