Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

LAZY DAISY

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Aphanostephus skirrhobasis (DC. ) Trel.

Comanche County, Kansas

Annual

Height: 4-20 inches

Family: Asteraceae - Sunflower Family

Flowering Period: May, June, July

Stems:

Erect or bushy-branched, soft gray-pubescent.

Leaves:

Alternate, simple, soft gray-pubescent; lower leaves spatulate, 1 to 4 inches long, to 4/5 inch wide; divided, toothed or nearly entire; bases narrowed into margined stalks; tips blunt; middle and upper leaves oblanceolate to oblong, progressively reduced, mostly sessile; tips blunt or pointed; uppermost bract-like.

Inflorescences:

Heads, solitary, long-stalked, terminal, .75 to 1.5 inch wide; bracts lanceolate, overlapping in 4-5 poorly defined series; tips pointed; margins rough.

Flowers:

Ray florets 20-44, 1/4 to 3/5 inch long, upper surface white, lower surface reddish purple or rose, color often in streaks; disk florets numerous, yellow, bases swollen and hardened at maturity.

Fruits:

Achenes, less than 1/10 inch long, ribbed, tipped with about 5 unequal, pointed scales, enclosing small seed.

Habitat:

Prairies, open woods, and roadsides, on dry, sandy sites.

Distribution:

South-central Kansas.

Comments:

The common name lazy daisy refers to the behavior of the flowers remaining closed until mid-morning. It sometimes is cultivated as an ornamental.

Lazy daisy