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stiff-branch stephanomeria, stiff-branch wirelettuce, tuft wirelettuce

skeletonplant, small wirelettuce

Habit Annuals, 0–100 cm. Annuals, 10–200 cm (taproots relatively large).
Stems

single, branched (branches nearly at right angles, stiff), glabrous.

single, branches divaricately or freely spreading, glabrous or sparsely pubescent.

Leaves

withered at flowering;

basal blades oblanceolate, 6–10 cm, margins entire or toothed (teeth minute, faces glabrous);

cauline much reduced, bractlike.

withered at flowering;

basal blades linear to oblanceolate, runcinate, 3–10 cm, margins pinnately lobed;

cauline much reduced, bractlike.

Peduncles

2–10 mm.

2–10 mm (along branches), or 10–40 mm (in paniculiform arrays).

Involucres

6–9 mm.

5–7 mm (glabrous, puberulent, or densely stipitate-glandular).

Florets

5.

5–11.

Calyculi

of appressed bractlets.

of appressed or reflexed bractlets (glabrous, pubescent, or stipitate-glandular).

Heads

borne singly along branches or in paniculiform arrays.

borne singly or clustered along branches or in paniculiform arrays.

Cypselae

light to dark tan, 3.8–4.2 mm, faces slightly bumpy to tuberculate, (grooved);

pappi of 15–18 tan bristles (connate in groups of 2–4, bases persistent), plumose to tops of bases.

light tan to dark brown, 2.1–6.8 mm, faces smooth to tuberculate, grooved;

pappi of 5–24 tan or white bristles (falling or widened bases persistent, bases connate in groups of 2–4 distal portions breaking off), plumose on distal 50–85%.

2n

= 16.

= 16.

Stephanomeria paniculata

Stephanomeria exigua

Phenology Flowering Jun–Sep.
Habitat Open, sandy or volcanic soils, plains and foothills, often growing as weed along roads
Elevation 200–1400 m (700–4600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; NM; NV; OR; TX; UT; WA; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 5 (5 in the flora).

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

Key
1. Heads borne singly or clustered along branches; peduncles 2–10 mm
→ 2
1. Heads in paniculiform arrays; peduncles 10–40 mm
→ 3
2. Calyculus bractlets appressed; peduncles 2–5 mm
subsp. coronaria
2. Calyculus bractlets reflexed; peduncles 5–10 mm
subsp. macrocarpa
3. Calyculus bractlets reflexed
subsp. carotifera
3. Calyculus bractlets appressed
→ 4
4. Peduncles and involucres densely glandular
subsp. deanei
4. Peduncles and involucres glabrous or sparsely glandular
subsp. exigua
Source FNA vol. 19, p. 356. FNA vol. 19, p. 353.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Cichorieae > Stephanomeria Asteraceae > tribe Cichorieae > Stephanomeria
Sibling taxa
S. cichoriacea, S. diegensis, S. elata, S. exigua, S. fluminea, S. lactucina, S. malheurensis, S. parryi, S. pauciflora, S. runcinata, S. tenuifolia, S. thurberi, S. virgata
S. cichoriacea, S. diegensis, S. elata, S. fluminea, S. lactucina, S. malheurensis, S. paniculata, S. parryi, S. pauciflora, S. runcinata, S. tenuifolia, S. thurberi, S. virgata
Subordinate taxa
S. exigua subsp. carotifera, S. exigua subsp. coronaria, S. exigua subsp. deanei, S. exigua subsp. exigua, S. exigua subsp. macrocarpa
Name authority Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 7: 428. (1841) Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 7: 428. (1841)
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