Flora of North America species comparison

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Wyethia helianthoides

Wyethia glabra

sunflower mule-ears, white mule's ears, white-head wyethia

Coast Range mule's ears, Coast Range mule-ears, smooth mule ears
Habit Plants 25–40(–80) cm. Plants 15–40(–60) cm.
Basal leaves

blades (light green) lance-elliptic to elliptic-ovate, (10–)20–30+ cm, margins usually entire, sometimes denticulate, ± ciliolate, faces sparsely pilose to pilosulous (usually minutely gland-dotted or stipitate-glandular as well);

cauline leaves similar, smaller distally (petiolate or sessile).

blades oblong-lanceolate to elliptic-ovate, 20–30(–40) cm, margins entire or ± serrate-dentate (often undulate), faces glabrous or finely stipitate-glandular, sometimes sparsely pilosulous as well (usually shining);

cauline leaves similar, smaller.
Involucres

± hemispheric, (12–)20–30(–40) mm diam.

hemispheric or broader, 35–60+ mm diam.
Ray florets

13–25;

laminae (cream to white) 25–45 mm.

(8–)12–27;

laminae 15–25(–35) mm.
Phyllaries

36–48, subequal, herbaceous, margins villous-ciliate, faces glabrous or glabrate;

outer 18–25 mm (not surpassing discs).

22–24+, unequal, herbaceous, margins not ciliate, faces glabrous or abaxial finely stipitate-glandular;

outer (30–)40–70 mm (foliaceous, much surpassing discs).
Heads

borne singly.

usually borne singly (–2+).
Cypselae

9–11 mm, strigillose distally and on margins.

10–13 mm, puberulent and/or finely stipitate-glandular (at least distally).

Wyethia helianthoides

Wyethia glabra
Phenology Flowering May–Jul. Flowering Mar–May(–Jun).
Habitat Meadows, other damp to wet sites, openings in pine forests Shady sites, dry foothills
Elevation 40–2600 m (100–8500 ft) 10–800 m (0–2600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
ID; MT; NV; OR; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Hybrids between Wyethia helianthoides and W. amplexicaulis are infrequent where the species are in contact; no introgression has been noted. The hybrids have been called Wyethia ×cusickii Piper; they usually bloom later than W. helianthoides and earlier than W. amplexicaulis.

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

Wyethia glabra grows in the Coast Ranges, often in the fog belt.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 21, p. 103. FNA vol. 21, p. 101.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Heliantheae > subtribe Ecliptinae > Wyethia Asteraceae > tribe Heliantheae > subtribe Ecliptinae > Wyethia
Sibling taxa
W. amplexicaulis, W. angustifolia, W. arizonica, W. glabra, W. helenioides, W. longicaulis, W. mollis
W. amplexicaulis, W. angustifolia, W. arizonica, W. helenioides, W. helianthoides, W. longicaulis, W. mollis
Name authority Nuttall: J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 7: 40, plate 5. (1834) A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 6: 543. (1865)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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