Flora of North America species comparison

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Wyethia helianthoides

Wyethia mollis

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

woolly mule's ears, woolly mule-ears
Habit Plants 25–40(–80) cm. Plants 30–40(–100) 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 lanceolate to oblong-ovate (whitish to gray or green), 20–30(–40) cm, margins entire, not ciliate, faces sparsely to densely tomentose to tomentulose (usually gland-dotted as well), glabrescent (nearly bald in age);

cauline similar, smaller distally.
Involucres

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

campanulate to hemispheric, 20–25(–30) mm diam.
Ray florets

13–25;

laminae (cream to white) 25–45 mm.

6–15;

laminae 15–45 mm.
Phyllaries

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

outer 18–25 mm (not surpassing discs).

12–22, subequal to unequal, herbaceous, margins not ciliate, faces tomentose to tomentulose;

outer 20–40 mm (equaling or surpassing inner).
Heads

borne singly.

2–3 in racemiform to corymbiform arrays or borne singly.
Cypselae

9–11 mm, strigillose distally and on margins.

9–10 mm, distally strigillose.
2n

= 38.

Wyethia helianthoides

Wyethia mollis
Phenology Flowering May–Jul. Flowering Jun–Jul.
Habitat Meadows, other damp to wet sites, openings in pine forests Meadows, dry to wet, open sites, openings in conifer forests
Elevation 40–2600 m (100–8500 ft) 900–2200(–3000) m (3000–7200(–9800) ft)
Distribution
from FNA
ID; MT; NV; OR; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; NV; OR
[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 mollis grows in the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Range.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 21, p. 103. FNA vol. 21, p. 102.
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. glabra, W. helenioides, W. helianthoides, W. longicaulis
Name authority Nuttall: J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 7: 40, plate 5. (1834) A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 6: 544. (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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