Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

TANSY ASTER

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Machaeranthera tanacetifolia (Kunth ) Nees

Gove County, Kansas

Annual

Height: 4-18 inches

Family: Asteraceae - Sunflower Family

Flowering Period: June, July, August

Also Called:

Tansy-leaf aster, tahoka daisy.

Stems:

Erect, solitary or branched, glandular-hairy.

Leaves:

Alternate, densely crowded, short-stalked to sessile, 1 to 3 inches long, to 1 inch wide, pinnately divided 1-2 times into linear to oblong-lanceolate segments; tips with small, hard spines.

Inflorescences:

Solitary heads, 1 to 2 inches wide, terminal; bracts long, narrow, bases paper-like, tips green, spreading or curving back.

Flowers:

Ray florets 15-25, bluish purple; disk florets numerous, yellow.

Fruits:

Achenes, appressed-hairy, tipped with stiff bristles, enclosing small seed.

Habitat:

Open, dry, disturbed areas and roadsides, most abundant on sandy soils.

Distribution:

West third of Kansas.

Uses:

The Navajo used the dried roots to reduce nasal congestion and as a sneeze-inducing snuff.

Comments:

Mature tansy aster plants appear bushy. Though closely related to the asters, it is set apart by its spine-tipped leaves. The common name "Tahoka daisy" began to be used when seeds were collected for commercial use in the area around Tahoka, Texas.

Tansy aster inflorescence