Tickseed sunflower

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Tickseed sunflower

Tickseed sunflower

Tickseed sunflower bracts

Tickseed sunflower

Tickseed sunflower

Tickseed sunflower leaves

Tickseed sunflower

Tickseed sunflower

Morphology

Stem

Erect, often much-branched, glabrous.

Leaves

Opposite, simple, short-stalked, 3 to 6 inches long, 1-2 times pinnately divided; segments 5-7, linear-lanceolate, narrow; margins toothed.

Inflorescence

Heads, numerous, 1 to 2 inches wide, on slender stalks; outer bracts 12-30, linear-lanceolate, to 1 inch long, curling or bending downward, margins conspicuously bristle-fringed; inner bracts lanceolate, about equal to disk.

Flower

Ray florets generally 8, golden yellow, to 1 inch long; disk florets 5-lobed, yellow with purplish brown anthers; chaffy bracts slender, taller than disk florets.

Fruit

Achenes, egg-shaped, flat, hairy, dark brown, tipped with 2 short teeth or bristles, enclosing small seed.

Ecology

Habitat

Moist prairies, damp lowlands, open marshy sites, ditches, and stream banks.

Distribution

East 1/3 of Kansas.

Synonyms

Alternative scientific names that have been used for this plant.